Comet on the Grand Line
by masterSZS
Summary: Destiny is a funny thing. One minute you're serving tea, the next you're sailing the seas and searching for a treasure unlike any other, all the while fighting your way past tyrannical governments and zealot Marines. This is the story of how I lost everything. This is the story of how I gained so much more. This is the story of how I became a Pirate.
1. Prologue

Destiny is a funny thing. One minute you're working in a tea shop taking orders from some pompous asshole and the next you're trapped inside an underground cavern with a girl who you've spent half a year chasing after with the intention of capturing her friend and taking him back to a nation that wants his head on a platter. As you could probably imagine, things were not exactly looking good for me. Then again, nothing ever has. I've always had to struggle and fight for everything I've ever wanted. But that's how I want it. As much as I'd like to have things go my way just for once, I know that I wouldn't be the same if things were easy for me. I wouldn't have the same experiences. I wouldn't have the same mindset. I wouldn't be.. me.

On that note, I should probably introduce myself.

My name is Zuko, son of Ursa and Firelord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne. Or.. at least I used to be. Three years ago I was banished and sent on an impossible mission to find a missing relic of the past, the Avatar, the only being capable of opposing the Fire Nation and putting an end to a war that had spanned nearly a century. A war against everyone and everything that refused to bow down to one man, my father.

I am no fool. A small part of me knew that this was just a facade for Him to get rid of me. With me out of the way, the throne was open for my younger sister, Azula. I knew perfectly well how worthless I was in His eyes. But if there is one thing my family is known for besides war, it's our stubbornness. I took that part of me that questioned my Father and I tore it shreds. Every piece that doubted my mission, my loyalty to the man who scarred me forever, was ripped and thrown into the deepest, darkest corners of my subconscious. There would be no looking back for me. I could not afford to dwell on the past or wallow in my own self pity. I just couldn't. Doing so would only be admitting my failure, and it would ruin me. There is only so much failure a man can take before he finally breaks.

So I kept looking.

My sole purpose in life now was to capture the Avatar and bring him home in chains.

Nothing else mattered.

Nothing else could matter.

Life outside of my purpose was simply a distraction waiting to lead me astray. But my resolve was stronger. I swore to myself that I would find him, and find him I did. The most powerful bender to ever walk this earth. A being said to contain the knowledge and power of over a thousand lifetimes, all rolled up in the spirit of one twelve year old kid. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment. I was fully aware of the power of the Avatar. I held no illusions that I could win, after all, this was a being that could flatten mountains with a stomp of his feet and cause typhoons with a wave of his hands. I had trained myself mentally, physically, and spiritually for this moment, but even that could not possibly help me in a fight someone that held that kind of power. I was prepared to die, but I wouldn't go down without a fight. Yet while I had trained with the expectation of fighting a _100 year old man, _what I got was a kid who hadn't even reached puberty yet. Once again, fate had decided to spit in my face. To add insult to injury this _child_ managed to not only elude me time and time again, he also managed to make me look like a fool while doing it.

But I didn't hate him. I may have gotten angry and frustrated to the point where I would blow up over every little thing, but I didn't hate him. How could I? In the rare moments where I was alone, my thoughts break free. He was just a kid. A kid who was forced into an impossible situation with an impossible burden to carry forth. And in that I realized that he was just like me. That only made me even more angry though. It made me angry because even though he was the last of his kind and had the weight of the whole world on his shoulders, he still had the ability to put a smile on his face. What kind of person does that! Perhaps all that air he bends went straight to his head.

But none of that matters now. Right now I'm stuck in an underground catacomb with an increasingly irate waterbender. Soon I would face a choice that would alter the foundations of this world in ways I could not even begin to imagine, for better or for worse.

And the best part of it?

This world would not be the only world that would be affected.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Okay, so here's my first story, a crossover between two of my favorite shows, One Piece and Avatar, featuring my favorite character from Avatar, Zuko. I wanted to write a story about Zuko because one, there's not enough crossovers featuring him. It's my hope that this will soon change, but it is what it is.

I wanted to get this story started and what better day to get it out than on the very day our Nation celebrates it's Independence?

Anyway, just note that I will alternatively switch between first person, mainly form Zuko's POV, and third person. Go ahead and leave comments on which style you find better so that I can work on improving the other. Feel free to leave any other comments on things that you feel should be improved or any other things that you wish me to add in.

Also, I don't plan on this being the only crossover in this story, it's just that the world of One Piece will be the main world where all the other crossovers will take place. I have a few other small crossovers that I plan on bringing in at some point down the line, but it won't be for a while. Go ahead and leave any suggestions for animes or cartoons or even live-action shows / books that you'd like me to look into, I'm pretty open to anything as long as I know the plot of the show and some other little details. I like to know about it before I write it.

As for pairings, I don't really have anything in mind, so feel free to voice your preferences. I'll add in some interactions and only a few OC's that I think will be interesting in order to help, but I'll also add in suggestions that I like as well. The only condition I have is that I want the pairing with Zuko, should he have one, to be a crossover one.

I hope you all enjoy it, and Happy 4th of July to you all!

Peace.


	2. Crossroads of Destiny

So I forgot to do this in the previous chapter, so here it is now:

**Disclaimer: **I do not own, nor give myself any credit for the creation of One Piece, Avatar, or any of its characters. Those rights belong to Eiichiro Oda, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

* * *

So this is what my life has come to. Trapped inside a dark cavern with a girl that I spent nearly a year chasing after (technically I was chasing the bald monk she was traveling with) with my head down as she towers over me and recounts all of the horrible things I've done to her and her friends (and some of the things I didn't do) over the past few months. Strangely enough she seems to have skipped the whole tying her to the tree thing, not that I'm complaining.

"The Fire Nation took my mother from me."

That startled me. My eyes widened in shock for a fraction of a second and I automatically thought back to my own mother and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her sudden disappearance. I turned my head to look back at the sobbing water tribe girl and felt a wave of sympathy for her. I knew all too well what that pain felt like.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "That's something we have in common."

This time it was her turn to be startled and she turned to look back at me wiping some of the tears from her eyes in the process. Her eyes told me what she was thinking. _How could a Prince whose father was the Supreme ruler of a nation, lose his mother to that very nation?_ Unfortunately, even I did not know the exact details to sufficiently answer that question. However, my gut tells me she did not just abandon me. Something just screams to me that she left to save me somehow. I unknowingly thought back to that night so many years ago. I think of my sister coming into my room telling me that Dad was going to kill me and then seeing my mother going off to have a talk with her. I remember being awoken for the second time that night, this time by my mother, who told me that everything she'd done, she'd done to protect me. At the time I was too tired to realize the importance of her words, but they would come to haunt me for many years to come. The last words my mother had ever spoken to me.

I looked back to the waterbender to see that her eyes were no longer wet with tears. Her eyes no longer pinned me with an accusatory gaze, but instead contained something akin to… pity? Odd.

"Why?"

Her question caught me off guard.

_Why?_

Was she asking me why I would accuse my own nation for being responsible for taking my mother from me? Or perhaps why I was opening up about my personal life in the first place? Even I didn't know the answer to the last one.

I looked back at her again. Her eyes peered into mine with a sense of unrelenting tenacity. I can respect that.

"Why do you want to capture Aang so bad?"

Well. That certainly wasn't what I was expecting. Didn't I tell her several times already that I needed him to restore my honor? I'm sure I mentioned it when I tied her to the tree... Damn. I really need to stop thinking about how I tied her to a tree. What the hell was I thinking? Looking at her now I could see that she was serious. She really wanted to know why I was after the Avatar.

"I need him to restore something I lost. My honor." I told her with absolute conviction. I needed her to know that I was serious too. She needed to know that I didn't want him just because he was a threat to the Fire Nation. It wasn't personal.

"I don't understand. How can he help you regain your honor?" she asked.

So she still didn't get it. How can I put this in terms that her simple water tribe mind could comprehend? Damn. Good thing she can't read minds because I have a feeling she wouldn't have taken that well. Although, one look back to her and I could tell that she got a basic idea of what I was thinking from the face I was making.

"I'm so _sorry_ if you think I'm not _smart enough _to understand all the deep _complexities_ behind your warped brain, but you're going to have to be a lot less ambiguous and a little more elaborate if you want me to get why you think capturing my _friend _will bring you some honor!" the girl (_Katana? Katoora?) _huffed indignantly.

I take it back. Maybe she _can _read minds. "My honor is my life. Without it I'm nothing. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance I have of things ever returning to the way they used to be." Hopefully that will satisfy her, I thought. However, with the way her head tilted to the side a bit and how her eyes widened a fraction of an inch, I could tell that her head was being filled with only more questions.

"Go back to what?"

An innocent question, but one filled with much more power than I could handle. What exactly did I want to go _back_ to? An empty palace with a father who despised me and a little sister who took ever chance she could to bring ruin down upon me? Sure, it would be great not be on the run in enemy territory, but was that what I truly wanted? I had been sailing on a ship for over three years now and while it wasn't the most ideal of situations, I was still free go where I wanted and make my own choices. Of all the things I've experienced in my banishment, that sense of freedom was the most liberating. Could I really handle the stifle environment of royalty once again? Suddenly, the walls around me seemed to cave in. My breath became more labored and I felt as if all of my senses had heightened to a new level, yet I was powerless to even move a muscle. For the first time since I was banished I thought about what would happen if I ever did manage to capture the Avatar and return home.

Now that my thoughts were in rampant disarray, once discarded fears came gushing out like a dam that had broken after years of incessant over-flooding. Even if I captured the Avatar, what guarantee did I have that my Father would welcome me back? The idea materialized before I even realized it. It was a preposterous notion thought. Of course He would welcome me back! I am His loyal son. He'll be happy when I return.

_More lies. _

My eyes widened. The thoughts were getting stronger now, and much more truthful. Even if father did lift my banishment and welcome me home, nothing would change. I'd simply have more use in His eyes. That's all. That's all I was to Him. A tool to be used and then tossed aside, just like those soldiers who marched to their deaths all those years ago.

Is that really what I wanted to go back to? Without meaning to I look back to all the places I had been to and the people I had seen in the past three years since I had been banished. At the time I never paid much attention to my surroundings. All of my attention and focus had been zeroed in on training and finding the Avatar. Everything else was a distraction. But now, in the absence of all the drive and absorption of my goal, everything seemed to come back to me in perfect clarity. The faces of the men, women and children that were filled with fear as I passed by with my soldiers, the poverty that encompassed so many towns and villages. For Agni's sake we were supposed to be helping these people! That's what we were taught growing up, right? So why was everything so wrong?

My eyes shut and I clenched my teeth in frustration as I thought back to the family in that small village that took me in when I was nearing my breaking point. The boy, Lee, had looked up to me as I imagine he did with his older brother who had left to fight in the war. Yet even after saving him from a couple of Earth Kingdom thugs, once he learned of my true identity all that kindness and admiration turned to hate.

I thought back to another Earth Kingdom family that had taken both me and my Uncle soon after we had first become fugitives of the Fire Nation. They had also shown such kindness to strangers. The girl, Song, had surprised me the most. Seeing her carry a burn scar of her own was a big eye opener for me. And yet, even after all they had done for me and Uncle, I had once again proven myself a jerk by stealing an ostrich-horse from them. I tried to justify that I needed it more than they did and that because I was a Prince, I somehow deserved it. But the truth is, all I felt was guilt. No matter how hard I tried I could not rid myself of the feeling. All I could do was convince myself that once I captured the Avatar and returned home, I would find a way to repay all the people that I had hurt in my travels. Even so, I can't help but think that no amount of repayment could ever justify me turning the Avatar to my Father. Death, I knew, would be a mercy compared to what He would put him through.

I had purposely avoided thinking about what would happen to him after I captured him for this very reason. Even without having to think about it, I instinctively knew the general outcome. He wouldn't be killed, of course. Killing him would just reincarnate him into the Water Tribes and force the Fire Nation to search for him once again. They'd bring him close to the brink, though. Just close enough so that he couldn't escape. And then he'd watch as the world burned around him as he could do nothing but watch. He'd once again be forced to endure the pain of losing everything and everyone he cared about.

But so what? What did I care about that for? It wouldn't be my problem anymore so what should I care him or his friends or even the rest of the world going up in flames. I'm a firebender. Flames come with the territory. I would finally have everything I wanted. Father's love, my honor, my throne. Everything would be mine with his capture. That's all that mattered.

My fists tightened and I began to unconsciously shake slightly with tremors that reverberated throughout my body and I thought to another person. Someone who had been by side since Day 1 of my banishment. Uncle. Since my mother had left, he had been the only one to support me unconditionally. Even when my anger would get out of control and I started to lash out at everyone, including him, he never lashed back and believe me, some of the things I did and said definitely deserved some sort of retribution. But he never did. He always tried to help me, in that annoying sagely old way of his. He's always given me such good advice and even though he may not realize it, I remember everything he's ever told me. While a lot of it I still don't understand, and the things I do understand I hardly ever follow, I still treasure his intentions. And to be honest, though I doubt I'll ever say it out loud, I know that he's the one who's been a real father to me.

"...don't know." I finally choked out. I could barely believe just how fragile my own voice sounded.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she tried to make out my mess of a mumble.

"Huh?" she questioned. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I said I don't know!" I stated with more conviction. "For so long, all I wanted was to capture the Avatar so that I could return home, but thanks to _you_ I'm starting to second guess myself!"

Uh oh. With the way her eyes widened and her teeth clenched, that might not have been the best thing to say at the moment. Huh, is it my imagination, or is that steam coming off her body?

"Huh?! What are you talking about? How is this my fault! Don't blame me for your own messed up mind you crazy Fire Jerk!"

Yep, definitely not the right thing to say.

"Look, all I'm saying is that I was perfectly fine before I was forced into this cave with you."

Alright, Uncle's right. I really need to start thinking about what I say before I start running my mouth, if her twitching eye is anything to go by.

"I mean I was just starting to get used to the idea of living here. Uncle finally realized his dream of opening his own tea shop and I was helping him out. At first I was against the idea, but some things happened and Uncle was so happy that now I'm actually okay with it! I've actually been able to live a normal life without having to worry about the Avatar or the war and it's been nice. Can you believe it?"

I looked up to meet her gaze hoping that she'll understand that I really was just living a peaceful life these past few weeks, but it's strange. Her head's down slightly and her left foot was twitching back and forth as if she was nervous for some reason. Weird. "Is something wrong?"

That seemed to jolt her back to life. Her head whipped upwards and she lost her footing as she stumbled forward a bit. Just what was she thinking about? She regained her balance and calmed down as she looked back at me. "Sorry," she said.

That's a first. What exactly was she sorry for. I voiced my confusion and her cheeks reddened as some of the fluster returned to her.

"Nothing, she replied back. "So..," she trailed, "you and your uncle were just living in the city peacefully then? No ulterior motives or evil plots to capture the Avatar or anything?" she fished suspiciously. She obviously had something on her mind but I ignored it. This was a good opportunity to let her know that I had no extravagant plans of subterfuge inside the Earth Kingdom capital.

"Yeah. We've been on the run for a while now hiding from the Fire Nation and bounty hunters. Uncle suggested we go to Ba Sing Se to lay low for a while, but I suspect that he had more long term plans in mind. But it was either face the Earth King and his army as refugees, or face _Azula_." I placed some emphasis on my sister's name and looked the waterbender in the eyes. We both shivered uncontrollably. Suddenly she laughed and said,

"Well congratulations on avoiding the crazy blue fire chick." I laughed as well and told her it was only a matter of time before she caught up to me anyways. She agreed.

"So Kataro," I started.

"It's Katara," she interjected with a twitch in her eye.

"Katoora?" I questioned.

"Ka-ta-ra," she ground out, the twitch in her eye much more prominent than it was a second ago.

"Right... Katara." _Nailed it._ Anyway, so do you know how my crazy sister managed to gain control of the Earth King's personal guard?"

Her eyes were downcast as she answered, "It was a trick. She apparently snuck in disguised as some friends of ours. I don't know exactly the details of how she won over the Dai Li, but I'll bet that snake Long Feng had something to do with it."

I remained silent. I didn't know who this Long Feng was, but whoever he was, if he had struck a deal with Azula then it was only a matter of time before she took care of him. Lying, mind games, brute force, it didn't matter what tricks this guy had up his sleeve, because whatever he had I could personally guarantee that Azula was leagues ahead of him in all fields. It's not as simple as being biased because she was my sister. Even at a young age she had that talent to outdo anyone and everyone in anything and everything. That's just how good she is.

"Your sister is pretty scary."

That caused me to chuckle. "Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement." She chuckled as well and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry for screaming at you earlier," she said. I was surprised. After everything I had done to her over the past half year, I deserved a little screaming here and there. "It's just that, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, there was your face."

My left hand moved upward unconsciously to the left side of my face and gingerly traced the edge of my scar. I closed my eyes in understanding and tiredly exclaimed, "My face, I see."

Katara quickly backpedaled to try and explain herself. "I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay," I assured her. "I used to think this scar marked me. The banished Prince cursed to chase the Avatar forever." The words came to me in a stream of confidence that I never knew existed before today. "But lately, I've realized that I'm free to make my own choices." I could hardly believe the words that I was saying but I knew that each and every word was the truth. I hadn't yet decided just what I was going to do, but I knew that whatever I did it would be because I had chosen to do it, not because someone had tried to force something on me.

"Maybe you could be free of it," Katara said. "This water," she continued while lifting a vial attached to a string from her pocket, "is filled with spirit water from the oasis in the North Pole. I haven't used tried it yet, but I've been told that it has special healing properties."

I turned my head to the side and tried to squash the hope that was rising within me. "It's a scar," I scowled. "It can't be healed." She walked until she was standing in front of me and raised her hand until it was level with my scar. My eyes closed involuntarily as her cool fingers rested upon it. No one, not even Uncle, had ever touched it before.

"Maybe," she consented. "Maybe not. But it's worth a try, isn't it?"

I thought about it. I could finally be free of the mark that had haunted me for so long. Time seemed to stop as the unspoken choice lingered in the air between us.

"No," I answered with more conviction than I had ever felt before in my entire life. I squared my shoulders and stood up a little straighter. I met her eyes and saw that she seemed confused by my choice and so I opted to explain the reason for my answer.

"This scar is a part of me now. It's a reminder of my past. If I were to lose it now, it'd be like everything I'd gone through these past few years would be all for nothing. I used to think that this scar was a mark of shame, an eternal reminder of my own mistakes and incompetence. But now, this scar defines me. Because of it, I've done so many things I never would have even dreamed of doing if I hadn't gotten it. Since I've had it for so long now, it'd just feel weird without it anyways," I explained. "Besides," I continued with a smile, "I'm sure that this water could be better put to use than on some vanity project."

Katara smiled back and voiced her agreement. Just as I was about to ask her how we were going to get out of this mess, a crashing sound was heard from the wall behind us as a hole in the rock was opened up. Debris and dust kicked up from the surrounding area as two silhouettes appeared from the rubble.

"Katara!" yelled a voice I recalled as belonging to the Avatar as the young airbender zoomed up to said person and wrapped his arms around her. "We found you!"

"Nephew!" came the cry of the second person who I immediately knew to be Uncle. My thoughts raced as I felt immense relief in knowing that he had cared enough to come after me, though I should have expected it. Ever since I was young and especially during these past few years, Uncle had been the one constant in my life. I know that I wasn't the easiest person to get along with and that I often expressed my annoyance with him, but I truly appreciated his patience and steadfast loyalty to me. He was always looking out for me and trying to help me no matter how dismissive or disrespectful I was towards him. I truly didn't deserve to have him as my uncle, but I thanked every spirit I could think of that he was.

"Uncle," I said. He smiled at me and turned to Katara and the Avatar. "You go on ahead," he told them. "We'll catch up later."

"Ok," agreed the Avatar as he pulled Katara away with him. Her eyes met mine and I could probably guess what she was thinking at that moment. I like to think that she was telling me to join them and give up on chasing the Avatar. That she wanted to be friends. My little speech about how I was now free to choose my own path had probably sparked hope that I had changed. I lowered my head as I was not so sure.

"Why did you let them go ahead Uncle," I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Because it's time we talked," he answered in confirmation of my thoughts. "You are not the same man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger, and wiser and free-er than you have ever been," he praised with a smile.

I couldn't look him in the eyes. Even now, he held such faith in me that it was hard to look at him. I didn't want to let him down, but I knew from past experiences that I was prone to making mistakes and disappointing others.

Uncle grabbed my shoulder and forced and my eyes met his for the first time since he started talking. His voice got lower and more serious as he told me, "And now you have come to the Crossroads of your Destiny. It's time for you to choose, Zuko. It's time for you to choose good." I closed my eyes and tightened my fists. I knew this was coming, but I still couldn't prepare myself well enough for it.

The sound of abrasive crystal jolted me from my reveries and I looked in horror at the sight of my uncle trapped in the jade rocks. I took a solid firebending stance and turned to face the direction of my soon to be opponents.

"Well. I should of expected this from uncle, but you Zuko? You're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?" came the sneering voice of my sister. She strode towards my position flanked by several Dai Li agents.

"Release him immediately," I commanded.

Azula simply smirked. "Zuko, Prince Zuko. I've plotted ever single part of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history and the only way we win is together," she said. "By the end of this day, you will have your redemption. You will have your honor back and you will have Father's love," she practically purred those last few points. Even though I knew she was playing me I couldn't help but become enticed by her words.

_My honor, my crown, my thrown_. Everything that I had been fighting to get back was finally right within my reach. If I joined with Azula, the Avatar would have no chance. I could finally redeem myself. I could finally go home.

"Don't listen to her," warned my uncle. "The kind of redemption she offers is not for you."

"The choice is yours," my sister explained nonchalantly. She motioned off the Dai Li agents and walked through the tunnel that the Avatar and Katara had walked through only moments before leaving me alone with Uncle.

"Zuko," he began, "look within yourself and find what it is you truly want."

I lowered my gaze and sagged my shoulders. This was it. What was it I truly desired? Honor? Fame? The throne? No. What I truly wanted was the very thing I had been yearning for since I was a child, but what I wanted was something that would forever be out of reach. I looked up to Uncle and stared into his eyes and thought. Perhaps I had already had it all along. I raised my head and set my jaw in a line. I knew what I had to do. I turned away from Uncle and began taking slow, but steady steps towards the tunnel entrance. The glowing light from the jade crystals cast frightening shadows upon my form. The cavern was eerily quiet with the exception of my heavy footfalls and the distant sounds of battle that lay directly in front of me. Soon I would be joining my sister. Soon I would face the Avatar. And soon, I would confront my destiny.

Time to make history.

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**Author's Note:**

So here's the official first chapter. A lot of the scenes were taken from the show, with several changes and more insight to Zuko's thoughts.

Head's up to anyone that cares, but in spirit of the 4th of July weekend I'll be uploading the next chapter tomorrow around noon-ish. After this, look for updates weekly on Saturday's around the same time. The only time things might start to slow down will be once school starts up again in the fall, but hopefully I'll be able to at least keep it no longer than two or three weeks. Also, I might post two chapters a week if one chapter is under 1,000 to 1,500 words.

Anyways, read, review, and enjoy!


	3. Coursing Lightning

**Disclaimer: **I still have yet to acquire the rights of One Piece and Avatar. Enjoy!

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From my vantage point at the edge of the tunnel's entrance I could easily make out the ensuing battle. Even two against one my sister was still able to hold her ground. She truly was a prodigy leagues ahead of me. But I could tell that she wouldn't be able to hold out on her own for long. If she was going to win this battle, she would need help.

With one strong, solid motion, I sent a large fireball crashing into the midst of their three-way standoff. All eyes locked on to my own as I slowly made my way to join in on the standoff. Gone was the long sleeved shirt that I had been in, they had been torn off at the arms moments before so that I now stood sleeveless. Uncle would be upset to learn that I had ruined the new uniform he had bought me for the teashop, but right now I had more things on my mind than a measly couple hundred silver pieces.

All was quiet now that I had marked my arrival with a fireball in the middle of the fight. My interruption left all of the combatants on edge and all of them stared back at me, waiting for my next move. I looked to Azula who glared back at me expectantly, and then to Katara who looked at me with a mixture of wariness and hope. My final gaze lingered upon the very form of all my misfortunes. The Avatar stared back at me with worry and desperate pleading. I couldn't help but think how _young _he was. He was probably just about the same age as I was when everything... changed.

I narrowed my eyes and cocked my fist back in preparation as his eyes widened in shock. The cavern was silent with only the swishing of the underground river beside us, and the dying sizzle of my flames deflected by my sister. Her eyes widened in rage as she realized that the odds had now risen against her, three to one.

"Big mistake Zuzu," she snarled as she drew her arms back and immediately brought them forth again, letting loose small jets of brilliant azure flames from each index finger in rapid succession at the three of us. I blocked two flame projectiles and easily side-stepped the third. My fists become alight with red-hot flames that I unleashed upon my sister with all the pent up rage I had accumulated over a lifetime of standing in her shadow. The Avatar and the waterbender each contributed their own attacks and soon my sister found herself on edge. In this area filled with rocks and a river close by, even someone as good as her found herself facing unfavorable odds when pitted against a trained waterbender and the Avatar, let alone myself.

"Give it up, Azula," began Katara. "You can't win."

I instantly found myself on guard when I saw Azula's lips curl up into a cruel smile. "You really just don't get it, do you peasant. This fight is already over." As soon as she finished speaking dozens of figures began dropping from the ceiling like flies. Soon the Avatar, Katara, and I were surrounded by the Dai Li, my sister smirking all the while beside them.

She stepped forward and spread out her arms. "Now what was that you were saying," she purred.

I grit my teeth in frustration and entered a more defensive stance. I looked to my sides and saw that Katara had surrounded herself with eight writhing tentacles of water and that the Avatar had already begun streaming currents of air between his fingers. This wasn't over yet.

"So. You still intend to fight. While I applaud you for your persistence, I must admonish you on your ill-placed attention. Dogs should know when they've been beaten," chided Azula.

"Not without a fight," I protested and let loose a torrent of flames at two of the closest agents on my right side. Without wasting anytime I spun on my heel and unleashed a low spiral of flames from the underside of my foot at another agent on my left, catching him off guard and causing him to stumble several steps before succumbing to the heat of the fire and falling to the ground in pain.

The Avatar and Katara both followed my example and began attacking our foes in a frenzy of desperation. The airbender jumped several feet in the air harnessing a massive current of air before slamming back down to the earth and releasing the all wind energy he had built up in one combustive move that blew away eight surrounding agents all in one go. He quickly got back up and looked ahead to the only figure who remained unmoved by his attack. Grounding his teeth and kneeling slightly to the ground, he pushed his arms outward in a move that covered his body in the jade crystal that littered the battlefield and charged forward. Azula smirked and lit both her palms with blue fire, then displaced them behind her and put more power into her flames until she began to skate towards the Avatar on a fiery path of flames, gradually gaining speed that soon surpassed the airbender's own impressive velocity.

A sharp jab to my side brought me back to my own battles as I twisted to face the earthbender that had just hit me with a pillar of stone. I placed my left hand my most recent bruise and growled in irritation at the sheer numbers of my opponents. For every bender I brought down another three rose to take his place. Raising my fist I fired off a quick jab of fire at a nearby agent who easily raised a slab of earth in defense.

I spun in place creating a sphere of flames surrounding me to buy me a few moments of rest while I concentrated. The quick jabs were getting me nowhere. It was time to fight a little less like a firebender and a little more like an earthbender. I let in a few deep breaths and brought my palms together, focusing on the center of my chi flow. I let myself fall into a deep horse stance reminiscent to a basic earthbending form. If I wanted to break through their defenses, I would need a calmer mind and a more solid base. I needed to put more energy, more power behind each and every one of my flames to stand a chance. I took one more deep breath and narrowed my eyes. My flaming shield was just beginning to die down when I struck with all the force of a loaded cannon.

A solid fireball shaped like a comet roared towards a nearby agent who rose an earth wall in the hopes of defending himself, but my blast now had much more power backing it. His earth defense shattered on impact and the man was sent flying backwards from the force of the blow. I grinned and began sending more blasts at the surrounding agents. After spending years traveling the world and months on the run in solid Earth Kingdom territory, I was pretty well accustomed to how earthbenders moved. Thanks to Uncle's wisdom regarding how techniques from different bending styles could be incorporated into my own firebending moves back when I first tried to generate lightning, I began reflecting more on my past battles and the moves that were used on me hoping to glean some new bending techniques. It was difficult at first, but the results were worth it.

Two agents, one on my left and another on my right, each thrust their first forward in synchronized tandem, each launching a jagged pillar of hardened earth towards my form. I sidestepped the one on my left and kicked out a burst of hot flames then jumped onto the second pillar and began running across the make-shift bridge heading straight for the agent who had created it. Another agent to my side hurled a multitude of smaller stones at me which I dodged my sliding under the hail of flying rocks, launching a rocket of flames that flew right towards his face. His rock-covered hands raised to cover his face but that did little to stop my flaming onslaught. Not only did the force of my attack push him back, the heat of the flames were more than enough to singe his clothes and cause several third-degree burns on his more unprotected areas.

I didn't have time to contemplate his pain as I was immediately engaged with more agents. I continued to pour more power into my flames in order to counter the defenses of the skilled earthbenders, but it was clear that while my unconventional attacks had truly caught them off guard, they quickly began hardening their own attacks. I needed to shake things up once again to turn the tides to my favor.

Speaking of tides, I quickly glanced back to see how Katara was faring and was amazed by how well she was able to deflect the incoming projectiles and turn their own attacks against them. Seeing her graceful, yet effective performance inspired me to take a similar approach. Moving my arms in a spiral motion, I began dodging attacks left and right with a sort of elegance that reminded me of how I moved when I fought with my dao blades. My skill with swords was a side of myself that I had kept separate from my bending form. As the Blue Spirit, I had moved with a sort of nimbleness that was so very different to my firebending. As a firebender, my moves were quick, powerful, and often flashy, yet at the same time very stiff and rigid. But as the Blue Spirit I flowed with the energy of my blades. Every move had a purpose that I would use to the fullest extent. Since I sometimes found myself in situations where I needed to conceal my identity to accomplish specific tasks (like freeing the Avatar from a high-security level prison), I normally used my alter-ego as a disguise for my less-than-legal activities where I needed to refrain from firebending. Because of this I had to often improvise and be more clever in place of brute force. For some reason, it had never really occurred to me to combine the best of both my identities' skills in a fight.

_Time to change that._

Ducking under a sharp rock that would have easily taken my head, I slowly moved my right arm in a windmill fashion as flames began to trail down the sides of my arms. My left arm was positioned parallel to the floor and cocked back, my palms tight but open and crackling with energy. I waved my right arm and released a wall of fire that I quickly began forming and manipulating while then moving my left arm into place above my head and twirling it as well, adding more flames to the already large inferno before me. Twisting on my ankle and slowing spinning in a circle I continued to move my arms in a circular motion until I was in the middle of a blazing tornado of fire. Extending my arms outward I willed my flames to spew out dozens of fiery balls of destruction in every direction. Unfortunately, performing these advanced firebending techniques consumed a lot of energy and soon I found myself panting from the exertion. Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead as I tried to formulate a way to hold off my adversaries long enough for me to regain some of my strength.

"Zuko, watch out!" cried Katara in warning. Her plea proved to be just a little too late as I felt an excruciating pain in my side. A Dai Li agent had entered my blind spot and attacked me from behind. The pain caused my vision to falter as several other agents began pelting my body with showers of hard stone. I cried out in pain as I tried to regain control of the situation, but the attack from before had really taken a toll on me; it took all I had to still be standing.

_Shit, _I cursed. _I need to recover my bearings and start countering these attacks. I'm not gonna last if I keep taking these kinds of hits._

My hope started to drop when I saw that I was surrounded by five earthbenders about to finish me off. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable end when the familiar sound of sizzling flames caught my attention. I opened my eyes just in time to watch as my would-be attackers were each set aflame.

"Nephew!" came the shout of my savior as he rushed up to my side. "Are you alright?"

I smiled in relief at his approach. "I've been worse, Uncle," I joked. "Ouch!" I cried as I was caught unaware of my uncle's quick poke to my shoulder.

"This is no joking matter, Prince Zuko," admonished Uncle. "When you go to fight against a large group of people, common sense dictates that you don't _leave your uncle behind!" _he all but shouted, poking me with each emphasis in his lecture.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. I shouldn't have left you trapped in the crystals. Sorry Uncle," I apologized.

"That's not the point, Nephew," sighed Uncle. "What I'm trying to say is that all you need to do is ask. I will gladly help you if only you would let me."

I sighed as well. "I didn't want to drag you into this, Uncle. This is my decision. You've done more than enough for me all these years. You shouldn't have to go through this because of me."

At this Uncle grinned. "You don't get to get rid of me that easy. There are still much I have left to teach you!" he explained. "Like the true appreciation of fine tea!"

I laughed at this and said, "Thanks Uncle. I'm looking forward to it."

"Well, isn't this touching," came the berating tone of my sister. "Perhaps I should call off my attack now. We can all go home and sit together while we sip hot tea and feed the turtle-ducks," she mocked.

"That would be wonderful," Uncle played along, "however, Ozai never was one to appreciate such joys in life. I do hope you don't follow in his ways," he admonished.

Azula scowled. "I wonder how well you will keep to your foolishness when you're locked up in prison, Uncle." With the formalities out of the way she quickly thrust her index finger forward and unleashed a rapid bolt of blue fire at Uncle who easily dispersed it with a wave of his hand. He returned fire and the two were soon engaged in furious combat.

I was about to turn my attention to the surrounding Dai Li agents when a sudden sight caused me to widen my eyes in horror. A stray boulder had crashed near Uncle and threw him off balance. A second rock followed soon after the first and would have hit Uncle if he hadn't managed to somehow dodge the blow. Unfortunately, the attack had left him wide open to incoming attacks from behind which Azula was already starting to take advantage of.

Her arm was aflame and about to strike out against Uncle. Images of my past swirled in my brain when I noticed the direction of her fist. At her current trajectory her hands would soon come into contact with Uncle, more specifically, the left side of his face. My scar began to throb.

_No! _

I moved with speed I never knew I possessed until my own flaming fist collided with my sister's. A midscale explosion sent the two of us flying in opposite directions. When the smoke of the blast cleared, we both stared at each other with hate-filled glares.

"You're going to regret this Zuko!"

I ignored her and entered a traditional firebending stance. "Enough of your taunts, Azula. Let's finish this, just you and me."

She laughed and pierced me with her gaze. "So it's come to that, has it? Fine. Let's finish this, just you and me, brother, the way it was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

My eyes narrowed and I tensed every muscle in my body. "You're on."

With a grin, she stepped forward and released a massive wave of fire with just one hand. Using both of my hands, I brought them forward in a smooth motion and met her fire with a stream of my own. The flames collided with one another and flared upwards at the collision point.

Wasting no time, Azula sent forth rapid bursts of fire in various shapes and sizes. With my mind focused only on defeating my sister once and for all I easily blocked, snuffed out, and sidestepped each one. With a flame-propelled jump she created a large leash of fire that she sent crashing down on me from above. I spun around once to create momentum and formed a small wall of fire to block the attack.

I could tell that Azula was starting to get annoyed, no doubt frustrated that she was having difficulty facing her failure of a brother. The thought made me smile.

Deciding to take the initiative, I created two of my signature fire daggers and leaped forward to close the distance between us. I attacked with slashes and thrusts using only my hands knowing full well that Azula was easily able to keep up and dodge or counter these simple maneuvers. That was fine. I didn't need to defeat her, I just needed to keep her occupied while I planned my next move.

_There!_

Changing up my flurry of attacks with a small burst of fire from my legs, I was able to distract her long enough for me to send a torrent of fire spewing out from my mouth. Azula, who had just finished dealing with the attack from my legs widened her eyes in surprise and quickly brought both her hands in front of her to defend. With her sight blinded and her defenses focused on the attack from above, I took advantage of the moment and sent a devastating kick fueled with fire right into her exposed stomach. Her eyes bulged and she was sent careening several feet away where she fell to her knees in pain.

Her amber eyes bore into mine. She realized it just as I had. For the first time that either of us could remember, I was the one standing above the other. I'm pretty sure she was as shocked as I was. I truly wasn't expecting that sequence to work against her.

My fist cocked back in preparation as we stood still, silently staring at each other. Finally, she broke the silence. "You're making a big mistake joining with these peasants, Zuko." _Shit, she used my actual name. This can't be good. _

"I don't think so."

Despite the position she was in, she grinned. "You don't? Tell me, do you really think they're going to trust you? After all the horrible things you did to them?" Her eyes moved to Aang. "After all, our family wiped out his family. They're all dead because of _us._"

_Don't let her get to me. _

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Her laugh unnerved me. "And it's not just him you know," she told me once she calmed down. "There are millions of people out there right now that blame the Fire Nation for 'burning their homes' and 'killing their families' and whatnot. Pathetic really, how sensitive they all are. If they would just give up and surrender themselves to us, then they wouldn't have to experience that pain. But no, they just have to fight back."

"Quiet, Azula."

"You do realize that even if the Avatar and his little entourage accept you, all those millions of suffering peasants will only see you as you are… a lying, murdering, bastard of a firebender. It won't matter what you do, you will be the scape-goat for their wrath, the object of their hate. To them, you will be a symbol, the face of the enemy. They will never forgive you."

I try to ignore her words. I try to tell myself that what she's saying isn't true. But, damn it all it just makes sense! As much as I want to believe she's lying, I can't help but think of the little boy, Lee, and how he had hated me with a passion after he found out what I was. His mother wouldn't even let me come near him when she was the one to approach me to save him in the first place. The scars inflicted on this world were simply too deep to comprehend.

Lost in my thoughts, I failed to pay attention to my surroundings until I heard the first chirping of the lightning in the air. Instantly, my brain jolted back to the world around me. In that split second, I saw Katara facing off against a large number of agents, her water whips succeeding in keeping them away. I saw the Avatar dealing with a large group of agents of his own. And I saw my Uncle, ferociously taking down agent after agent after agent. I would have continued to just watch if the sound of static in the air hadn't brought me back to Azula.

Her arms were already in the position to fire off the bolt at any moment. The lightning coursed through her body in streams. The others were too absorbed in their own battles to notice. It was just me and her. Taking a deep breath, I fell into a comfortable stance; the very one Uncle had shown me when he taught me how to redirect lightning. His words echoed through my brain as I steeled myself for the attack. My golden eyes locked onto the amber ones of my sister.

I knew something was wrong the moment she smirked.

Her eyes moved, just for less than a second, but I still caught it, and I knew exactly what it meant. That lightning bolt wasn't meant for me. It was meant for someone else. Someone that meant a lot to me. Someone whose loss would hurt me more than any bolt to the chest.

_Uncle!_

My body moved instinctively. Just as my sister released her lightning towards Uncle, I leaped forward and stuck out my hand and just barely managed to intercept the strike. I remembered Uncle's warning to never let the lightning reach the heart and I tried to guide it through my stomach and out through my other hand, but being in the air kept me off balance and susceptible to error. I somehow managed to guide most of the lightning into the air where it crashed into the stalactites above, but a good portion still entered my heart as I experienced a pain unlike any other. It's difficult to explain, but it felt like my whole being was being stabbed by thousands of tiny, razor sharp knives. Every millisecond that went by felt like hours of continuous pain. The pain was so intense that I couldn't even scream. I lay on my back writhing in pain; static charges of electricity fluctuated around me in short bursts. My vision went white with pain and the last thing I remember seeing before I blacked out was a bright flash of light and the Avatar, glowing.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

So there's the end of the second official chapter. Hopefully I did alright for my first ever fight scenes. Next chapter will see Zuko finally entering the world of One Piece and meeting the rowdiest pirates on the sea. Try and make a guess as to what time frame it'll be.

Look for it up next Saturday around noon, as well as all other subsequent chapters, though I reserve the right to update sooner.

Special thanks to everyone that's reviewed so far. I got to say that I was leaning towards Zuko x Robin even before I started writing this story, as she's definitely one of the most appealing characters to me. And the fact that her Devil Fruit has so many... interesting applications that can be used outside of battle makes it a win in my book. For people concerned about the large age difference, that could easily be fixed with either Ain's power in the newest movie, or Jewelry Bonney's strange power that seems to work similarly with age, although I'd prefer to work something out that's more permanent as to my understanding the ages go back to normal once the user has been defeated. I may just make up something on my own. For the time being, expect a Zuko x Robin pairing, though romance will not be the focus and any actual romance won't occur for a long, long time.

On another note, I want to thank the guest who gave the suggestions about adding in the DC and Marvel characters. I had originally thought about adding in Superman and Supergirl, but they are simply too big of a powerhouse for the moment. Maybe in the New World arc. As for Spiderman, I hadn't even thought how good his personality would fit in with the Straw Hats. I'll ponder it.

Anyways, thanks and see you all next week!


	4. Pirates!

**Disclaimer: **This will be the last time I put this up. If I ever come across the grand opportunity to own One Piece, Avatar, or any of their characters, I'll be sure to let you know.

* * *

_Chapter 3_

_Pirates!_

_I'm floating._

At least, that's what it felt like. My eyes were shut tight against their lids, but I could feel the gentle rise and fall of my body, as if I was floating in the air.

_No, not air. Water._

Yes, I knew this feeling well. I had spent over three years sailing the sea after all. I knew the feeling of the water well.

_A ship. If I can feel the gentle lull of the waves, then I must be on a ship of some sort._

But that didn't make sense. I don't remember being on a ship recently. Wait. Where was I again?

_A cave. Ba Sing Se. _

That's right. I was in Ba Sing Se. Uncle and I were starting anew. I worked in a teashop now.

_So why do I remember being in a cave?_

Before I had a chance to ponder on my situation some more, I heard a small voice, like that of a child's, calling out to several other people. Friends of his, most likely.

"Hey guys, look! I think he's waking up."

_A voice? Whose voice? I don't recognize it at all._

A fresh wave of pain rolled over me. I grimaced from the sensation and unwittingly clenched my teeth. The pain refused to go away, but at least it seemed like it was starting to fade.

_Ugh, what hit me?_

I groggily opened his eyes and was met with a strange sight. Instead Uncle or even the Avatar and his friends, I was met face to face with a group of characters I had never met before. The very first thought I had dealt with the strange creature kneeling on my chest and staring straight into my eyes.

_Am I dreaming, or is that a tanuki standing on top of me?_

"How are you feeling?" asked said tanuki.

_Yep, definitely dreaming._

"Did that tanuki just _talk?_" were the eloquent first words I uttered since awakening.

The strange create made a frustrated face and growled in irritation. "I'm a reindeer!" he shouted.

Putting my hand to my head I muttered, "What the hell happened to me? Am I finally going crazy?"

The sound of laughter reverberated throughout the area. A young man with a small scar below one eye and wearing a strange straw hat grinned up at him. "You're funny, Scar Guy. But that's just Chopper. He's the one who's been taking care of you."

I made a puzzled face at the strange newcomer. "Taking care of me?"

"Well, yeah," replied the boy. "He's our doctor."

A snort of disbelief was my response. "Of course he is." _And my sister is a flying four-hundred foot tall platypus-bear with pink horns and purple wings._

At this the tanuki/reindeer marched right up to me until he could easily wave his hand… er… hoof, in my face. "How rude! And after all I did to help you with that scar on your chest too!" he cried.

At the mention of a scar I looked down at my chest and found them covered in bandages. Ripping them off rapidly while ignoring the protests of the little doctor, I soon came upon a newly formed scar in the shape of a six-pointed star. The wound reminded me of the recent battle I had been in with Azula in Ba Sing Se. _This must be the result of the lightning that I failed to redirect properly, _I thought. Thinking of my fight with her brought me back to the present. If all of that had happened just recently, then who the hell were these people and why wasn't Uncle here? How did I even _get _here in the first place?

_What the hell is going on?_

Looking around, I discovered several very disturbing facts. First, I was surrounded not by Uncle, the Avatar, or even Azula and her newly acquired agents, or anyone that I had ever met before, but by seven odd looking strangers. There was the small reindeer thing that claimed to be the doctor, the odd boy with the straw-hat, a blonde haired boy smoking a cigarette, a boy with a really long nose, two normal, but very beautiful looking women, and an older guy with pierced earrings, three swords and green hair. Second, no longer was I in an underground cave in Ba Sing Se, but somewhere out in the open on a ship of some sort (is that a goat's head at the bow?). Third and last of all, the ship was out in the middle of the sea, dark clouds blackening the sky. Two ships could be seen next to each other in the distance, each carrying strange beings on board who were waving and shouting words of encouragement.

_Are those monkeys? They're monkeys aren't they? Oh Agni, I really am insane._

"Oi," I began in complete monotone. "Where am I?"

"Shishishi. We're about to ride the Knock-Up Stream," laughed the straw-hat boy.

_Huh? _"The Knock-what now? The hell is that?"

Leaning back from his seat on a barrel, Straw-hat boy put his hands above his head to emphasize his point and spoke excitedly, "It's this _really_ awesome wave that goes straight up into the air! Cool huh?!"

_The hell is wrong with this kid? _"Why the hell would you want to place your ship on top of something like that then?"

The kid stopped his cheering and looked at me funny. "To get to Sky Island of course."

_Sky Island? Is this kid insane? _"You want to get to an island... in the sky?"

Nodding his head and smiling in confirmation, he responding with, "Uh huh. That's the idea. It's gonna be sooo much fun!"

_This kid is a moron._

"Stupid peasant. There's no such thing as an island in the sky."

The boy ceased his laughing and tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Ara? But isn't that where you're from, Scarface? And what's a peasant?"

While the boy pestered the girl with the orange hair as to what a peasant was, I was busy with my own thoughts.

_S-S-Scar Face? The nerve of that little… No. I'll deal with him later. Important things first. What did he mean by where I'm from?_

"Hey, Straw Hat, what did you mean by what you said?"

The boy turned to me with that infuriatingly stupid face of his. "Oh, that? Don't worry about it. Nami already told me what a peasant is." As if realizing what that entailed, his face scrunched up and he glared at me. "Oh, yeah! That was pretty mean of you to say to me. What a rude person you are." Like a five year old, he stuck his tongue out at me.

_Must not burn him. Must not burn him. Must not…_

My brow twitched in annoyance. "Not that you idiot, the part where I'm supposedly from this 'Sky Island.' What did you mean by that?"

As if forgetting the insults I had thrown his way, the boy smiled. "Oh, that. Hahaha, it was really funny. The sky got real dark and there was this reaallly cool whirlpool-looking cloud in the sky and then you just came flying out of it and landed next to our ship. I dove into the water to try and save you, but then I realized that I can't swim. So Chopper dove in after me to save both of us, but he can't swim either. So Zoro and Sanji had to save all three of us. Hahaha, isn't that funny?"

My eyes were wide open as I stared at the laughing boy in front of me. _A-Amazing. To think there existed a person like him… I can't believe it. The world sure is vast. This guy must be the Master, no, the Lord, no the King of all Idiots. Unbelievable. If idiocy was contagious, I would be in grave danger right now._

In fact, his sheer stupidity and carelessness made me completely forget the part where I had seemingly fallen from the sky. I was about to reprimand him on his lack of foresight when another shout caught my attention. Turning my head to the direction of the shout, I caught a glimpse of yet another strange sight. Aboard a small raft stood several men, one of which was currently going on about some sort of bounty and how he was going take the Straw-hat boy's head.

_Another group of weird-o's? _

I was about to ask what the hell they were going on about when a low rumbling shook me to my core. Tensing my shoulders, I began looking around in anticipation. "Uh, what was that?"

The pretty young woman with short hair the color of fresh oranges looked up at the sky and said, "Looks like it's about to start. Everybody! Get ready, things are going to get rough for a bit, ne?"

_I have a bad feeling about this. _

Not even a second after finishing that thought I found myself swaying as the seafloor below began to slowing bulge upwards. Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly the water grew beneath the odd ship, raising the boat to several meters above the rest of the seafloor. Then, in an instant, the ocean exploded. A massive pillar of water shot into the sky, the tip of which had already disappeared into the clouds and could no longer be seen. The raft that was just nearing them had been destroyed, its former occupants now scattered across the ocean as the ship sailed up the vertical stream.

Grabbing hold of a nearby railing, I panicked at the sudden turn of events. Never before in my short life had I ever heard of, let alone seen, the sea act in such a way. And I had been at sea a long, long time.

_This has gotta be a dream. Yeah, that's it. Just a dream. There's absolutely no way the water could just shoot up like that. _

The screams of the talking reindeer and the long-nosed boy filled the air as they prayed to Kami to spare their lives. The boy with the straw-hat just laughed all the way, singing nonsense about the island in the sky. Falling debris led me to raise his head and look above me. Immediately, I wished I hadn't. A giant fish had been spit out by the stream above them and was now falling into the ocean that was already several hundred feet below.

"Look! That's the fish that got sucked into the whirlpool earlier. Luffy! I told you, this is too dangerous. We're all gonna die!" came the desperate cries of the long-nosed boy.

"Ussop's right," agreed the reindeer. "It's all over! We're gonna die! We're gonna die! Waaahh!" he sobbed.

"I can't die!" came a third cry from the orange-haired girl. "I'm too young and cute!"

"Shishishi, this is so fun," ignored the boy that I guessed was Luffy. "Sora-jima~ Sora-jima~ Yahoo!"

A shout from the blonde-haired boy with the curly eyebrow informed the rest of the crew that the ship was starting to fall off from the stream. "If we don't do something quick, we're going to end up just like that fish," he finished.

"It's over," said Ussop dejectedly. "So this is where the Great Captain Ussop finally meets his end."

_This is really happening,_ Ithought. _I'm really going to die._ Images of my family passed before my eyes. Uncle was sitting at a table sobbing animatedly with empty tea cups that filled an entire room while my father shook his head in disappointment. Through it all Azula stared at her nails in a bored manner and mocked my imminent death. _A firebender drowned at sea? Only you, Zuzu. _

The girl with the orange hair broke everyone from their despair when she began handing out orders. The others quickly got to work unfurling the sails and turning the rudders to align with the current. "This stream is an ocean," she explained. "With a current and some wind, every ocean can be navigated. And who is this ships' navigator," she questioned.

"You are!" came the enthusiastic response of the crew.

I was amazed and impressed at how much trust the others had in her judgment and how well the crew worked together under the pressure. That amazement soon turned to relief when I found that their trust was well placed when the ship began to stabilize and continue upward. Further, further, and further still the ship continued on its course into the farthest reaches of the sky.

Finally, the ship came to a stop and righted itself. My body collapsed onto the ground along with the rest of the crew and panted from over-exhaustion. "I'm… alive... somehow." I panted.

"Oi! Everyone! Look around. It's sooo white!" Luffy exclaimed.

"What the hell!? What is this place?" questioned the curly-browed guy.

"Clouds... we're floating on top of the clouds!" whispered Nami in amazement.

"Well of course we're floating. They're clouds," came Luffy's stupid remark. Curly-brows, the marimo, and the reindeer were quick to reprimand him. I would've joined if I still had the energy to care. Alas, flying up in the sky really takes a lot out of you.

_We're really on top of the clouds, _I thought. _So how the hell are we not falling to our deaths?_

"This is like the sea of the sky," Nami proclaimed. She looked down at some sort of compass on her left arm and continued, "The log pose is still pointing up. Apparently we still need to go even higher."

"Ohh! Nami-swan is so beautiful when she talks. I'll take you as high as you need to go!" screamed the man with the curly-eyebrow.

"I'm not sure, but we should…"

"Hold on," I interrupted, determined to make myself known and finally get some answers. "I still want to know who the hell you all are and what exactly is going on here."

"Ehh?" came the irritated voice of the blonde. "Who the hell do you think you are to interrupt Nami-swan's angelic voice, you shitty Scarface." He looked at me with narrowed eyes.

A tick mark appeared above my head. "Who are you calling Scarface, you curly-eyed freak."

The man with the three swords laughed at my insult. "He got you there, Ero-Cook," he grinned.

"Oi, oi, oi. You got something to say, Moss-head?" glared Curly-brows.

Just like that, the two of them began fighting comically all the while throwing insults at each other. The older woman with the dark hair giggled to herself and approached me. "Don't mind them, they're always like that," she explained. "My name is Robin, and you are…?"

"Zuko," I answered. The name exited my mouth before I realized my mistake. While these people certainly didn't look dangerous, there was no telling what they might try to pull once they found out I was the banished prince. It didn't make much difference what nation these people were from. My bounty was high enough to warrant the attention of any hunter looking for some serious gold. Fortunately, my name didn't seem to get a rise out of the woman before me.

"Zuko, huh?" she chuckled. "That's a nice name. It's nice to meet you. This is Nami," she said while pointing to the orange-haired girl, "our doctor who you've already met, Tony-Tony Chopper," she continued, this time pointing to the small reindeer who blushed at her introduction. Next she pointed to the two fighting men and said, "The guy with the blonde hair is Sanji and the guy with the green hair is Zoro. Our captain, Luffy, is the boy wearing the straw hat."

To hear that the dimwitted boy with the straw hat was actually the captain of this crew really threw me for a loop. "Hold up. Stop right there. Are you telling me that he," I pointed to said boy who currently had his pinky up his nose, most likely to look for buried treasure in his cave, "is the captain of this ship?"

Luffy grinned and took his pinky out from his nose. I watched disgusted as something distinctly green and slimy was flicked off of his finger and right in the middle of the still fighting pirates. Zoro and Sanji continued their brawl unaware that their location was compromised.

"That's right!" he grinned with his arms now high in the air. "I'm the Captain! Ahahaha!"

_It's official. This world is doomed. _

"Fufu, energetic, is he not? Anyway the last of our crew is the boy with the long-nose, Ussop," finished Robin. Said long-nosed boy was nowhere to be seen. "Luffy, where did Ussop go?"

Luffy looked up from his spot at the edge of the ship. "Ah. He went swimming in the clouds."

Both boys stopped their fighting and looked at Luffy like he'd grown a second head. "He's really been down there a long time now," said Zoro.

"Hmm..." began Robin. "Just a thought, but doesn't this sea have a bottom?"

Several seconds of silence passed by before the deck erupted into panic. "That idiot!" shouted Zoro.

"Did he fall out of the cloud?" Luffy screamed and cocked his fist back. After a quick wind-up he launched his fist forward and stretched his arms into the depths of the sea of clouds. My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when I witnessed the boy's arms _stretch. _It wasn't long before he pulled his arms back up with Ussop in tow. However, Ussop was not the only thing he managed to reel in. From the depths of the clouds several large fish-like creatures emerged. Zoro and Sanji leaped into action and attacked the monsters, Zoro with skillful use of his blades and Sanji with expertly placed kicks.

Zoro smirked in triumph. "Heh, I sliced him up."

A tick mark appeared above Sanji's forehead as he clenched his teeth. "No, I broke their necks with my kick, Shitty Marimo."

This time it was Zoro who sported the tick mark. "You tryin' to pick a fight with me Dart-board Brow?"

"As if. A gentleman, like myself, does not lower himself to the atrocious standards of a barbarian like yourself who does nothing but eat, sleep, and train himself to death."

"Oi, you're really starting to piss me off, Ero-Cook."

"That's my line, Shitty Swordsman."

And just like that, the two of them went back to their routine of exchanging kicks, slashes and a never-ending supply of insults. With the defeat of the sea monsters and Ussop's safe return, things seemed to settle down. Luffy, with stars in his eyes and drool spilling from his mouth, begged Sanji to cook the monsters.

"Niku! Niku!" He repeated those words like a mantra.

Ussop lay sprawled in the middle of the ship with Chopper leaning over him, frantically checking him for any injuries.

"Ugh. My, I-Can-Swim-In-The-Clouds-Again-Or-I'll-Die, disease is starting to act up again."

The little reindeer looked like he was going to burst into tears at any moment. "Oh no! Ussop! Don't go to the light! Doctor! Doctor! Someone get me a doctor! …Oh, right. I am a doctor! Don't worry Ussop! I'll save you!"

_This whole crew is crazier than King Bumi on cactus juice._

As impressed as I was with their attacks, I still needed answers. I approached them once again hoping to finally get some answers to my questions. "Hey," I called out. The rest of the crew, for their part, had already begun to go about their business. Luffy was busy eating some strange fish that had feathers growing out of its' body and Sanji had started to flirt with both Nami and Robin at the same time. "Oi," I tried again. Still no response from the others. My shoulders started to shake from irritation as I reached his boiling point.

Hey, I was never known for having the greatest of patience. My temper was practically famous!

Punching forward, I released a blast of fire that sailed in between the unsuspecting crew. Their eyes widened in shock at the display of my power and they turned to finally acknowledge my simmering form. "I'm trying to talk here!"

I had succeeded in finally gaining the attention of the crew, but their reaction was not one that I could honestly say I was expecting.

"Awesome!" came the excited shout of Luffy. "That's so cool how you made that flame appear! Are you a Devil Fruit user too?" he asked.

_Huh? _"What's a devil-fruit?" This seemed to shock the crew.

"You've never heard of a devil-fruit before?" asked Nami.

I looked back at her. "No. And why are you guys so shocked by that, it was just a simple firebending move. You act like you've never seen a firebender before. And would you please stop that!" Luffy, in all his glory and wisdom, had taken to poking me with his finger and giggling uncontrollably. "Cut it out!"

"What's a firebender?" asked Luffy. "Is that something you can eat?"

I looked at him funny. "You were dropped on your head a lot as a child, weren't you?" I had meant it as an insult, but the boy proved to surprise me yet again when he simply smiled and nodded his head.

"Although Gramps hit me way more than he dropped me," he laughed.

I slapped my palm against my forehead and sighed. "Whatever, I don't even want to know. To answer your question a firebender is a person born with the ability to manipulate fire. How you managed to live your life without knowing that is beyond me."

A sudden sense of unease washed across me as I looked up to meet the gaze of the others. All of them were looking at me warily, with the exception of Luffy who was still smiling brightly.

"Zuko," said Robin. "Are you implying that there are more people like you?" The unease grew and my shoulders tensed.

"Of course," I replied. "Practically everyone in my family is one and there are thousands of others around the world as well. There are other types of benders as well. None of this is uncommon at all, so why are you all looking at me like I'm a crazy person? He's the weird one!" I all but shouted as I pointed towards Luffy who was busy picking his nose _again_. "What the hell was with that stretching earlier? No normal human could possibly do that!"

At this, Luffy decided to interject. "That's because I ate the Gomu-Gomu no mi. I'm a rubber-man, see," he explained as he grabbed his checks and stretched them well beyond what any normal human could do.

I stared at Luffy in both shock and disgust. Before he had the chance to respond, Robin voiced her opinion.

"Zuko, I believe I know the reason for your confusion." I turned to look at her and urged her to continue, hoping that she would finally shed some light on this strange situation. "The reason you're so confused is…" she went on as I listened intently, "- you've been sent to another world."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

So Zuko finally meets the Straw Hat's! And it starts in the Sky Island Arc! He's in for a wild ride and a ton of headaches!

After mulling it over this past week, I have decided to not add in any other crossover characters for the time being. I don't want things to end up getting lost in a mass of characters and I had meant for this story to mainly be about Zuko and the Straw Hats in the first place. I think I'll just take a page out of Luffy's book and take it slow so I can enjoy the ride, wherever it takes me! This story is my baby for the time being, so I want to make sure that I let it grow and mature with all the love and care I can give it. I know that I can't possibly match up to Oda's masterful story-telling, but I'll give it a try anyway.

This is gonna be tough though! I've got a lot of ideas that I want to implement, especially later on down the line, so slowing down may prove difficult. If you feel that I start rushing things too fast, feel free to let me know. I promise not to ruin this story (not intentionally anyway).

Also, the next chapter is kinda short, so I think I'll be nice and post it in a few days. Probably Wednesday. I'll still post the next chapter after that on Saturday as well.

A few answers to a few questions: 

**Elquenodebesernombrado: **I agree. The characters in One Piece are on an entirely different level. Without the power-up of the Comet, Zuko will need to adapt and grow stronger to survive. As a result he will be getting Observation Haki and Armament Haki. I've been trying to decide on if I should give him Conqueror's Haki as well, considering he is, well, a King by right. Also, the fact that he tirelessly searched and chased and fought the Avatar no matter how outmatched or how much of a disadvantage he was in showed indomitable will, something I find that matches the requirements needed for that particular Haki. No Haki until after the time-skip, however. I've already got it mapped out as to how he will get it as well.

**DinoZilla: **I hope that fact that I introduced Zuko in at the Sky Island arc is hint enough as to your question :)

**Ghost of the Earth: **I appreciate your help! I personally cannot wait for Final Fantasy Versus and Kingdom Hearts 3! I've been waiting for far too long and I can't wait for the day when I can finally own them! That said, I don't think I'll be adding Spiderman to this story, at least not for a long, long time. To be honest, I always was more of a DC fan than Marvel anyway. Most of my knowledge about Spiderman comes from the movies. I was always too poor to be able to buy comics and I never thought of renting them at the library back then. Sorry, but I hope you still enjoy this story in spite of that.

**gamelover41592: **It was kinda vague when I wrote it, but basically Aang entered the Avatar State, a whole bunch of energy started colliding and spinning and Zuko, still covered with the remnants of Azula's lightning floating around in his system, got yanked into all that energy. A portal of sorts was formed, Zuko was dragged in, and he came out on the other side and ended up in the One Piece universe. It's not the best, but it's fiction so I decided to roll with it.

**TexasBean: **Thanks for your comment! And on a side note, I really enjoy your One Piece x Avatar story as well. Hope you continue!

**The Samurai Prince: **I just started reading it, and I love it! I really can't believe I never saw it sooner. I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's great! Sorry you aren't too thrilled about the pairing, but don't worry. I don't plan on having any real romance for quite some time. Gives me plenty of time to put my plans into motion. I had also thought of doing Zuko x Vivi since they would actually go great together. If only she were a part of the crew... Oh well. Maybe if I do another One Piece crossover I'll use that one and instead of him joining the Straw Hats, he'll join the Arabasta Royal Guard or something. That wouldn't be for a while though since I really want to do a Zuko x Erza pair. For some reason, that's my favorite pairing right now. Her, and Kagura, oddly enough.

**Totong: **Thanks for all the reviews you've given me! It's much appreciated!

Well, that's everything, I think. Read, review, and enjoy!


	5. A New World

**_Quick Note!_**

Before ya'll start reading this chapter (or after if you really can't wait), I wanted to let you know about an important announcement.

I've been working on a new crossover story (again with Zuko as the main character, though I'm keeping the other show under wraps for now), and I plan on releasing the first chapter either tomorrow or Friday. I hope you all will read it and enjoy it as well. I've really been getting into it lately and It's been fun to write. That said, it won't all be peaches and sunshine. Unlike this story, my new work will be darker and more mature. Apologies for all the people that prefer to read more uplifting stories, but the cross just wouldn't work without a dash of angst, a pinch of horror, and a whole lotta hopelessness. Besides, I wouldn't want it any other way.

It'll also be the first work where I'll be writing lemons, so that should be interesting for me. Hope you give it a chance and look forward to it.

That said, this story will be my main focus. I'm determined to see this story through to the end, no matter what.

Anyway, that's all for now. Read, review, and enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter 4_

_A New World_

_A new world,_ Zuko thought dejectedly.

At first, Zuko thought that Robin was joking. The very idea just seemed to far-fetched to actually hold any merit. But then, all the little details that were floating around him began to come into focus. The strange powers that Luffy had, the existence of supposed "devil-fruits," the strange looks of everyone in the crew all added up to convince Zuko more and more that he truly was in a different world. Even the air felt different. Though, to be fair, that could be due to the fact that they were now apparently _10,000 meters_ above the sea. Never in his life would Zuko have believed such a thing was possible if he hadn't experienced the phenomenon himself. Yet while the rest of the crew were excitedly jumping up and down (literally, in Luffy and Chopper's case), Zuko couldn't bring himself to feel much of anything besides his growing depression.

The crew had just managed to ascend to the upper tiers of the island in the sky and had soon come across one of the locals, a pretty young girl named Conis who invited the crew of pirates to her home and was currently telling them about life in the clouds. Making items from clouds. Playing in the clouds. Clouds, clouds, clouds.

It was enough to make Zuko sick.

_Fuck the clouds._

So while the rest of the crew had scampered off to waste their time away in the clouds, Zuko had sought out some quite time for himself away from all the ruckus of the crew so that he could drown himself in his misery in solitude.

_My honor, my crown, my throne, is all even further out of reach than it was when I was first banished. Even after I had given up on ever going home, even after I turned on my sister, my own family, to help the Avatar, the Spirits still deem it fit to torment me in some way. _

Lost in his reverie, Zuko failed to notice the figure that approached him until she sat down next to him. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it, Firebender-san," asked Robin.

Shutting his eyes and clenching his fists, Zuko sighed. "You have no idea," he responded after several seconds of silence. Out of everyone in the crew, Robin was definitely the most level-headed and mature. She never lost her cool and she didn't keep badgering Zuko to open up if he didn't respond right away. Since she seemed like she would be a good listener and didn't look like she would spew her mouth all over if Zuko told her a bit more about himself, Zuko decided to lower his guard just a bit and get a few things off his chest.

Besides, Uncle always said that talking was a great medicine. Then again, Uncle also said the same thing about tea.

"In my world, I am a Prince," began Zuko. "At least I used to be. A few years ago I made a mistake. I said some things that were out of line at the time and I paid the price because of it. I got this scar," continued Zuko as he pointed to the scar that marred the left side of his face, "and I got banished, all because of my own foolishness. The only way I could return home and regain my honor was to capture a long-lost legend. Everyone thought it was hopeless, including me. But I kept trying anyway, after all, it's not like I had anything left to lose. And then, it happened. I found him. The Avatar is the most powerful being on the planet, and he had been missing for nearly a hundred years. He's the only person capable of bending all of the elements and even able to call upon the power and experiences of all the past Avatars. But he was only a child when I found him. For the next half a year I chased after him and his friends. I came so close on multiple accounts to finally catch him, but every single time he managed to get away." Zuko sighed and gazed up at the billowing clouds above and around him. The gentle breeze of the flowing air reminded him of the little airbender and all the times they fought against each other.

Robin kindly waited in silence for Zuko to continue, and after a short moment of silence, he did just that.

"However, I have only myself to blame for most of his escapes," Zuko confessed. "It's just that, every time we fought I had these conflicting thoughts raging inside my head. On one hand, I really did want to go home. Even though my fath- the Fire Lord had banished me, I still wanted to see my family again."

Zuko clenched his hands tightly around his arms as he realized he had nearly given away too much. In his haste to continue on as if nothing had happened, he missed Robin's eyes widen a fraction when she caught wind of his slip. Her expression returned to its neutral state before he could notice.

"I wanted to show them how strong I'd become. I wanted them to praise me for my heroics and welcome me back with open arms. But as much as I wanted that, I couldn't stop thinking about just how _young_ he was. He was practically the same age as me when I… was given my mission. It was like looking in a mirror." The last part was mumbled to himself, but Robin caught the gist of it anyway.

For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Zuko sighed in sadness. "I had finally decided to let him go, too. I even betrayed my own sister just to help him out. My uncle, he was the only one to support me every step of the way. No matter how tough things got, he was always there for me. Even though he could be annoying and weird and smell funny at times, I could always count on him to be there and give me good advice. He was like a father to me."

Robin smiled when she heard the fondness Zuko held toward his uncle. "He sounds like a great man."

Zuko smiled and nodded his head. "He was the best." He frowned slightly after that. "Azula, my sister, nearly killed him too." Lifting his shirt, Zuko showed Robin the star-shaped scar that now covered his midsection. Thanks to Chopper's treatment, the scar was healing nicely and Zuko found himself feeling better every minute that passed by. The memory of the lightning that had circulated through his veins and his heart still brought shivers to the Prince. Uncle was right. That was one experience he never wanted to go through ever again.

"This scar is a result of the lightning that I attempted to redirect after she had aimed it at him. I didn't have a lot of time so I was caught off balance and now I'm facing the consequences because of it." Zuko put his shirt back down and hardened his eyes. "That wasn't the first time she had hurt him either. A few months back, she did the same thing and Uncle was injured for several weeks because of it. I... I thought that I had lost him and I nearly lost it. From that moment on, I vowed to never see him in pain like that ever again."

"And then you ended up here," guessed Robin.

Zuko nodded. "Yeah, and now I have no idea what happened after I blacked out or if he's even alright."

Robin was impressed at the genuine care Zuko displayed for his uncle. "I'm sure he's fine," she assured him. "He doesn't sound like the type of man that would be defeated so easily."

A true smile graced Zuko's face. "You're right. Uncle's strong, but more than that he's smart. He'll have found a way to get himself out of that mess and into safety."

Robin smiled at Zuko and made to leave. As she stood up and began walking in the direction of the others, Zuko's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Thanks," he said. "I don't usually open up like this, and I'm not so sure why you even bothered to waste your time on me, but it helped. So anyway... thank you."

Robin chuckled. "You're welcome, but I don't feel like I wasted my time." She turned to Zuko and smiled widely while closing her eyes. "I got to learn more about you."

Zuko blushed slightly at her care.

_A-An angel. She's a fricken' angel. _

"And besides," she said as she once again started walking in the direction of her friends. "I know what it feels like to lose everyone and everything that you love."

Zuko's eyes flew open in shock and he gasped in surprise.

_What does she mean by that?_ He wondered.

Robin either didn't notice Zuko's shocked expression, or simply ignored it in full. Her footsteps became heavy thumps in the distance, matching the rapid beating of Zuko's heart. He continued to hold his gaze on her as she met up with the others and laughed at some joke or funny story the long-nosed boy had said. For some reason, he felt a pang of jealousy when he saw Sanji shamelessly flirting with her and put a pretty sky-flower in her hair. The feeling dissipated when he recalled her ominous words.

_I don't understand,_ he pondered. _How can she just say something like that and then go and joke around with her friends? _Zuko continued to wonder upon the strange behavior of the raven-haired beauty as he mulled over the words she had spoken in his head. He doubted that she was lying to him, but he still had a hard time believing her.

Rising to his feet, Zuko began to wander off in the opposite direction of the others in the intent of exploring the town up ahead.

_If I'm going to be stuck here until I can find a way to get back home, I might as well learn as much as I can about this world. I'm sure Uncle would appreciate a good story or two as well._

With a new objective in mind, the former prince strode through the town searching for information he could use, the wind all the while blowing gently all around him as the laugher of the Straw Hat crew faded into the background.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So it's not much, but it provided some deeper insight into Zuko's situation and even allowed for Zuko and Robin to talk one on one for the first time. It's also the first chapter that isn't written from his point of view.

Next chapter on Saturday and that's when things will really start rolling.

Also look forward to my new story which should be up here in the next for days.


	6. To Upper Yard We Go!

_Chapter 5_

_To Upper Yard We Go!_

Zuko walked quietly through the town. With trained eyes, he discretely studied the locals around him. It soon became apparent to him that his presence was severely unwelcome. They didn't show their disdain for him outright, but he could see it in their body language that they wanted him gone.

Up ahead, he saw a friendly merchant at a stall selling some sort of shells. A woman with blonde hair could be seen leaving the stall with a strange, pink shell like object. Like all of the other natives on the island, she had a pair of smooth, white wings protruding from her back. Morbidly, Zuko wondered whether these people were born with this strange feature, or if it was stitched onto them as some sort of cult practice.

Shaking his head, he brushed aside the thought. No need to upset his stomach any more than it already had been at this whole bizarre "dimension-hopping" situation.

"Come again," waved the man.

Zuko approached the man. As soon as he came near he became acutely aware of the sudden scowl that crossed over the man's face when he saw him.

"What'dya want?" intoned the man rudely.

Instantly, Zuko found that he did not like this man. "I was hoping to find some information about this island. Anything you could tell me?"

The man snorted. "It's an island, and it's in the sky. What more do ya wanna know?"

_I'm gonna kill this guy._

Breathing in deeply to calm his raging nerves, Zuko started once again. "I was hoping for something more specific. Like maps or history books. Things like that."

Sneering, the man held out his hand. "Oh, yeah, sure. I can tell you a few things. For a price." As if to emphasize his point, the man waggled his fingers.

Having spent up all his patience for the day, Zuko grabbed the man by the scruff of his collar and lit his other hand on fire, holding it close to the other man's head. "How about the price of that face of yours?"

The heat from the flames, along with their close proximity and the underlying threat (not to mention seeing Zuko's own, rather prominent scar), caused the man's personality to make a complete 180. Sweating and trembling with fear, the man began begging for mercy. Seeing that he was making a scene, Zuko released the man from his hold and glared back at the eyes of the locals who stood like statues piercing him with their gaze. Some of them stared at him with wide eyes, fearful of the fire that had been in his hands just moments before.

"WHAT?" the former Prince roared. In response, the Sky Island natives turned on their heels and began to walk away from his seething form.

Realizing that he wouldn't be finding out anything useful anytime soon (and since he didn't have the patience to deal with anything anymore), Zuko stomped out of the town. Not wanting to go back to the crew of pirates just yet, he made a detour towards a secluded part of the island to relieve some stress in the form of firebending.

After some time of shooting fire randomly into the sky, not to mention the tufts of cloud pieces that he found lying around the island in rows (fricken' clouds), Zuko finally felt a little bit better. Kind of. Enough, at least, where he wouldn't threaten to burn people's faces off again. Probably.

_On second thought, maybe I should stay for a few more minutes._

-X-

A few hours after Zuko had first begun exploring the Sky Island town, he returned to the sight of Luffy, Ussop and Sanji sitting down with an unusually serious expression marking their faces. The rest of the crew were nowhere in sight, and neither was the ship.

"What's going on? Where is everybody else? And where did the ship go?" Zuko asked, shooting off one rapid question after another.

A quiet sniffling brought his attention to Ussop. "It's terrible Zuko!" he shrieked as he latched onto the prince's shoulders causing Zuko to lean back and attempt to get Ussop's grip off of him. His efforts were in vain as Ussop stuck to him like glue. "Merry and everyone else were kidnapped by sky-fish and now they're going to become sacrifices for the priests!" he wailed.

"You're not making any sense. What do you mean by sacrifices? And would you get off of me?" cried Zuko, continuing to struggle against Ussop's clutch.

"Tch. Those shitty fish kidnapped Nami-swan and Robin-chwan. I won't forgive them." This time it was Sanji who spoke up. He lit a cigarette and continued to curse out the fish responsible for taking the Going-Merry and the others to a forbidden area on Sky Island, a place called "Upper Yard."

"Once I get my hands on them, I'll make them into giant fish stew with extra seasoning."

"Oi, you guys, cut it out," Luffy said, his tone unusually colder and lacking in his usual mirth. "We're going to beat up the priests and get everyone back."

Zuko was surprised that the normally laid back and goofy kid that he had seen ever since he arrived in this world could pull off such a serious face. The wind ruffled the straw hat that sat upon his head. Not once had Zuko seen the boy part with the item. When he had asked earlier, Chopper had told him that the hat was Luffy's special treasure.

"And how are we going to do that?" Zuko asked.

"We can get you a boat that will take you to Upper Yard," came the voice of Conis's father, Pagaya. In all the commotion, Zuko had failed to notice Conis and her father. "After that, though, you'll be on your own."

"Understood," replied Luffy.

"Ah, I think my I-can't-go-with-you-or-I'll-die disease is starting to act up again," pleaded Ussop with tears in his eyes.

"Hai, hai. Sorry to hear that," Sanji said, not looking sorry in the least as he began dragging Ussop in the direction of Conis who led the way towards the boat they would be commandeering for their rescue operation.

Conis led the remaining Straw-hats through the town that Zuko had just previously visited. Luffy, for his part, had gone on ahead and was animatedly laughing as he visited stores and played with any object that drew his attention, his earlier seriousness long forgotten.

"That guy," muttered Sanji. "Does he even realize what kind of situation we're in? At this very moment, Nami-san and Robin-chwan could be facing unspeakable horrors! Don't worry ladies," he screamed, "you're knight, Sanji, is on his way!"

"Tch, and you guys call yourselves pirates? I've never heard of such foolishness," remarked Zuko with a look of disdain.

Sanji stopped his cries and lit another cigarette. "Oi, who do you think you're talking to, bastard," he growled with a scowl. "You trying to pick a fight with me? You shitty firebender."

"I call it like I see it, Curly-brows," the firebender responded.

A tick mark appeared above Sanji's eyebrow as he started testing his leg, preparing for a showdown with the cocky bender. Flames wrapped around Zuko's arms like a wreath as he planned to put the cook in his place.

"Cut it out you guys!" shouted Ussop. "We've got more important things to take care of without the two of you bickering."

Immediately Sanji went back to thinking about Nami and Robin and lost all interest in Zuko, who grunted and snuffed out his flames. The group continued on in silence until they arrived at their destination. The entire way Sanji and Zuko both had noticed the tense atmosphere the other locals gave off as the group passed by. It was exactly the same when he had gone into town on his own earlier. To his right, Zuko could see the man he had threatened earlier cower behind his stall and place a "Closed" sign at the front of the stall. The clear disdain they displayed towards them made Zuko uneasy. Something was up, and whatever it was, it didn't look like anything good.

Luffy, who had been goofing off elsewhere, dropped from a store higher up and crashed into the ground before them, causing Sanji to berate the young captain. Luffy quickly got up and started looking at all the different boats that were assembled in front of him, instantly becoming entranced by a lavish and extravagant boat that had a cow's head with a nose piercing at the front of the ship.

"Is this our boat?" he asked excitedly. "It's so awesome!"

Conis shook her head. "I'm sorry, Luffy-san. Your boat is over this way. Follow me."

"I can't wait to see it!" Luffy gushed. "Does it have a cool animal head as well! Ooh! Ooh! I hope it has a dragon!"

The group followed Conis as she approached a monstrosity of a boat. "This is it," she pointed. "The Little Crow."

Luffy's mouth widened in shock. Sanji lowered his head in shame and Zuko's eye twitched in annoyance.

"No... no way," Luffy said.

"This is the boat I used to use before I used a waver," explained Conis with pride. "Please, use it to rescue your friends," she smiled.

Zuko turned his gaze onto the dumbstruck captain. Luffy continued to look on in shock.

"No, I'm not going," came Luffy's deadpan voice.

Zuko and Conis both stared at him in shock. Zuko hadn't known Luffy long, but he had no idea that he would just decide to forget about saving the others on a whim. Zuko wondered if Luffy was finally starting to realize that his life was at stake, and that fear had begun to settle in his brain. Basing Luffy's actions as a survival tactic employed by all the pirates he had come across in his world, Zuko figured that Luffy was giving up at the last second just to save his own skin. Sanji and Ussop, however, both had first-hand experience in dealing with Luffy so they had a good guess as to what was going on inside that demented mind of his.

"I like that one better," pouted Luffy as he pointed to the sparkling boat he had been drooling over moments before.

_Huh? _

Zuko was stunned into silence by Luffy's brazen stubbornness.

"I figured he'd say something like that," muttered Sanji.

"This is Luffy we're talking about, after all," agreed Ussop.

The next few moments passed by in a blur. After being scolded by Sanji, Luffy questioned Conis on why she had been acting so weird the whole trip through town. After tense seconds of silence, Conis explained the trap that she was forced to lead them into, as well as saying that the reason the others had been taken away, was because she had been the one to call the Super-Express Speed Shrimp to take them to Upper Yard.

Soon after her explanation and her pleading for the remaining Straw Hats to escape, a bright light appeared above their heads. The entire sky and the surrounding area were illuminated by the shining light. Zuko's skin prickled as he could feel a tremendous amount of energy being formed. He placed his hand over his most recent scar, as a familiar feeling begin to stir within his very pores.

_Lightning!_

A moment was all it took. A moment before the largest accumulation of lightning Zuko had ever seen in one strike poured down from the sky like a pillar of pure destruction. The blast of the force shook the very foundation of the island and wiped out everything in a thirty-foot radius. Zuko's hand lay upon his forehead as he stared transfixed with wide eyes upon the resulting destruction caused by the power of lightning like he had never seen before.

The smoke from the blast died down to reveal both Luffy and Conis safe in the arms of the weird old man on the flying horse who claimed to be the Knight of the Sky. Taking Conis so that she would be safe from subsequent attacks, Luffy, Sanji and a reluctant Ussop all climbed into the boat, "Little Crow."

"Oi," called Sanji to Zuko, who still gazed upon the wreckage with amazement. "You coming or what?"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Zuko steeled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Count me in."

"Then let's go," whooped Luffy. "To Upper Yard!"

"NOOOO!" screamed Ussop as tears flowed from his eyes in fear.

_They're really going, _thought the rest of the Sky Island natives. _Without a second thought, they're going to God's Island. _

Taking one last glance behind him, Zuko turned his thoughts to the inevitable battles that would lie ahead. _That amount of lightning, there's no way I could possibly redirect even a fraction of a blast of that magnitude. This Enel guy, he's strong. And then there's still the priests and Enel's army to worry about, not to mention any other dangers that lurk ahead of us. _

Zuko placed his palm over the still healing scar on his abdomen. The recent wound had refused to stop throbbing ever since he had seen the destruction Enel had caused in the town. _Just what exactly am I heading into? _Suddenly, a spark of determination arose in Zuko. _But, this Enel guy uses some sort of lightning power. I'm sure to gain some invaluable techniques if I fight him._ He grinned. He never was one to back down from a challenge. _First the Avatar, and now a god? Looks like some things never change. _

* * *

**Authors Note:**

Well, there we go. Now that the die has been cast, shits about to go down. The Straw Hats enter the dangers of Upper Yard and will soon come face to face with the 4 Priests and the God of the Sky, Enel!

Just to clear up the ambiguity of the previous chapter, Zuko was **not **falling for Robin. I was trying to convey how moved he was by how genuine she was. That's all. I don't plan on any serious relationships occurring for a long, long, very long time. It'll be more or less lead up. To be honest, I think Oda had it right about not putting in any serious pairings at all. Unless you can make it truly believable and in line with each character's personality, it becomes more of a hassle than anything. I may just have Zuko go through a few non-committal pairing first just for buildup's sake. Hell, I may not put in a pairing at all unless people really want to see it. If you do, just let me know.

On another note, I did end up posting this other story that popped into my head a few days ago, but I don't know. I mean, I knew I was making Zuko a little out of character at the start, and I thought I could come up with a good reason for it, but after reading through it a few more times I just, I don't know. It felt off for some reason. If people like it enough then I'll probably keep it up and try to work out the kinks, but other than that this is the story that I'm focused on.

As I've said before, expect punctual updates every Saturday. I try to make good on my word so unless something major comes up, I'll be sure to post a new chapter. For that reason, most chapters will fall between the 1,500 to 4,000 word length. I keep it short so that I can update often. I prefer it that way so that I have a buffer if something happens and because it's less stress on me. I have a future to look out for and I wouldn't want writing to become a burden.

Finally, I want to thank everyone that's liked this story and the reviews you've all given!

**untied fate: **Thanks! Glad you liked it. I tend to really like fight scenes so I try not to brush past them and instead explain them the way I see them play out in my head. Hopefully, I can keep it up to meet, and hopefully exceed, your expectations.

**gamelover41592: **I was actually hoping to keep it going until the end of the Sabaody Archipelago arc. I've already got the process mapped out up to the end of Water 7, and the basic outline of what I what to happen up to the two year time skip. That's my current projection, anyway.

**Ghost of the Earth: **You're right, I doubt Robin would immediately come up with the idea of other worlds just like that, but then again, she is prone to making wild assumptions (although hers are more on the morbid side of things). I plan to cover more of the details surrounding Zuko's dimension jump at a later chapter. Hopefully it will meet your expectations. Also, I appreciate the suggestion, it's a good thought. And I loved Smallville as well, though I haven't seen it in a few years. I'm willing to add him in, but like I said, it most likely wouldn't be until after the time skip. It depends on how much I plan on dragging this thing out. Although, I would actually prefer to use Superboy since he has a lot of issues as well, prominent being he's not only a clone, but that he was made with the DNA of Luthor as well as Clark. Also, if I did this I would probably add one more character so that he didn't just come alone. I was thinking Raven because of how she shares some similarities with Zuko, most notable being the daddy issues they both have with their respective fathers, one who acted like a demon to his son and the other being an actual demon. Plus, she understands chakras! Most of Avatar deals with the chi, but the guru talks about the importance of chakras to Aang. Not sure about Zuko's knowledge regarding that, but considering his Uncle knows a lot about everything, I figured he would have mentioned it once or twice. I don't know, it was just a thought so I don't have all the kinks worked out just yet. Thankfully, I still have a lot of time before that point.

**The Samurai Prince: **Thanks for the review! And yeah, sorry if I put in some mixed signals there, but Zuko is NOT infatuated with her in any way shape or form at this point. I just wanted them to interact a bit is all. Besides, I don't think of Zuko as the type to get real strung up over romance. Definitely not right away at least. The way I see it, he has trust issues so he's less inclined to just fall for someone like that. It'll take time, that's for sure.


	7. Ordeals and Balls and Other Things

_Chapter 6_

_Ordeals and Balls and Other Things_

Nearly 40 minutes had passed since the three pirates and the one ex-prince had set out on their journey to Upper Yard. In that span of time, the group had barely managed to come out alive as traps and monsters plagued their path one after another.

"What the hell!" panted Zuko, nearly out of breath after the arduous work he'd done in protecting the small boat from swinging scythes, sharp spears, and vicious sky-fish. He scowled as he recalled how useless his fire had been in dealing with everything but the fish. Without his swords, he had been forced to use complex martial arts moves to deflect the incoming projectiles, much to his difficulty. Sanji, on the other hand, had easily kicked any spears that were in his range and was barely out of breath, a fact that pissed the prince off even more.

"We... we... we did it... every… one," stammered Ussop, who lay on his back in the boat with tears streaming down his face and his tongue out.

The group once again moved forward down the path. It wasn't long before they reached a massive cave with four different entrances, each leading to a separate "ordeal."

"Oooh!" exclaimed Luffy. "Let's go with the Ordeal of Balls! Balls! Balls!" he chanted.

Zuko folded his arms and asked why he wanted to go to that one so much.

"Because it seems like fun," Luffy smiled.

The rest of the crew face-palmed, but didn't argue with his choice. The boat passed through the entrance and the world went dark. Deciding to make himself useful, Zuko ignited a small flame that hovered above his palm and brightened up the surrounding area considerably, though it was still too dark to see anything too far ahead.

"COOL!" shouted Luffy in astonishment.

"Quiet fool," hissed Zuko. "There's no telling when this ordeal will start so we need to keep our eyes and ears peeled open for any surprise attacks."

Luffy folded his arms over his chest and pouted. "How mean."

The crew drifted on down the tunnel without talking for several more moments before Luffy once again broke the silence. "Hey guys, you know what this whole thing reminds me of?"

"W-w-what?" asked Ussop in fear.

Luffy smiled. "Shishishi. You know how there were four paths? One of them is a prize door, and the rest are all losing ones."

Ussop's eyes widened in fear. "Huh? What the hell!? Why did you have to go ahead and say that now? What if we ended up picking the wrong one?"

Luffy raised his head and put his finger to his chin in thought. "Hmm… I guess if we lost… umm… we'll probably fall off Sky Island," he said with a smile on his face.

That struck a chord with Ussop. "SCREW THAT! It's 10,000 meters from here to the Blue Sea! Do you have any idea how many times your life would flash before your eyes during a fall like that? Even falling has to have a limit," he shouted.

Sanji shook his head in annoyance. "Don't let this idiot get to you, Ussop."

"But…" began Ussop in fear.

"But nothing," cut off Zuko. "It's pointless to sit around and listen to nonsense. You're simply encouraging him, so just shut up and forget this dumb shit. There's no way that…" Zuko's next words were completely forgotten as the boat exited the tunnel , the path they were on taking a sheer drop straight down and continuing downwards beyond the clouds below and past anything their eyes could see, the other three paths all connected to their tunnels and leading elsewhere. Their small boat hovered in the air for a few seconds, just enough time for the pirates inside to slowly comprehend their situation, before the boat quickly fell prey to that bitch called gravity.

Ussop's eyeballs seemed to pop out of his skull as he opened his mouth in a soundless scream. Luffy, Sanji, and even Zuko followed suit and made comical expressions of unbridled terror as well. _This can't be happening. This can't be happening. SHIT! This is really happening, _thought Zuko as his life flashed several times before his eyes.

The boat plunged straight through the clouds and splashed back onto another path below, its occupants still safe and sound, if not completely terrified out of their very minds.

"We're alive," panted Sanji.

"I-I-I-I thought w-w-we were really f-f-falling 10,000 meters..." uttered Ussop, completely out of breath and with eyes filled with tears of terror.

Luffy for his part, simply kept laughing loudly even while Sanji kicked him several times in the head.

"This is all because of that stupid story of yours, Luffy!" yelled Sanji.

"Ahahaha. I was scared! I thought we were gonna die!" Luffy laughed.

Zuko clutched the side of the boat and panted, trying to regain his breath and calm down. "Why you little…" he shouted. Zuko thought of dozens of different methods of torture he contemplated using on the idiotic captain. _'Cut him? No, too simple. Burn him? Still not good enough. Maybe I'll throw him in a little pond of water and watch him struggle,' _he mulled.

After they all regained their bearings, with the exception of Ussop who looked like he was going to pass out any second now, they looked around themselves and came upon a strange sight. Giant, white balls floated along the path, one of which was coming dangerously close to the ship. Taking action, Sanji tried to kick it away. However, the contact triggered some sort of flag which caused the ball to explode. Zuko acted on instinct and dissipated the blast around him before it could cause him any harm. Sanji, Ussop, and Luffy were not so lucky and came out charred and sore after the explosion.

"Oi, Zuko! Why didn't you protect us too?" whined Ussop.

"That's right, you shitty bender. Why is it you left us to fend for ourselves?" growled Sanji.

Zuko looked away. "Tch. You're still alive? I was hoping that blast would at least take you out, Curly-brow."

Sanji sneered in anger. "Oi, oi, oi. You really want to do this, Scarface? Fine." Sanji lifted one leg and pointed at Zuko with his cigarette in hand. "It's about time I brought that cocky attitude of yours down a notch. You won't be making such smart ass comments after I've finished kicking you in that fat head of yours."

Zuko thrust his arms open and ignited his fists. "Bring it on, Stupid Cook. I'll be sure to burn that stupid eyebrow of yours right off your ugly face," growled Zuko.

Luffy laughed as the two growled back and forth at each other and were just about to brawl, despite Ussop's best attempts to separate them, when an unknown voice started making strange sounds. Raising their heads in the direction of the voice they were able to make out a strange, round-looking man who danced upon one of the white balls.

"Thank you for choosing my Ordeal of Balls," sang the strange man. "I'm Satori. Did you like them, my balls I mean?" he asked pointing to the numerous balls that surrounded the area. "I call them my Surprise Clouds," the man laughed.

"His Ordeal?" muttered Sanji. "That must mean that this guy is one of those priests.

"He looks pretty stupid," observed Zuko. "You sure you aren't friends with him," he implied towards Sanji who grew a tick mark on his forehead.

"Oi, bastard. I don't like what you're trying to imply," Sanji ground out.

"Hahaho," laughed Satori. "You guys are really funny. But, if you wish to go any further then you're going to have to defeat me." With that said, the round man descended towards the group.

Luffy wound up a punch and stretched out in an attempt to hit the man, but for some reason the man was able to easily dodge the punch, almost like he could sense it beforehand. Satori grinned and appeared before Luffy. He held out his hand and tapped Luffy in the chest with his palm. An impacting sound echoed throughout the forest and Luffy was sent careening backwards like he got hit by a train.

The others looked on in shock as Luffy was taken down for the count. Sanji got up and prepared a kick to the stomach of the fat man. Once again, Satori easily dodged the attack and countered with his strange punch. Satori laughed.

Zuko stepped forward, intent on confronting the priest. "What was that?" he questioned. "That ability of yours to know what attack is coming before it actually comes."

Smirking in triumph, Satori danced back and forth. "This ability is granted only to those who practice the art..." he grinned at Zuko. "Mantra."

"Hmph," grunted the prince, undeterred. Cocking his fist back, he let loose a flurry of flame-filled punches that ignited the area previously occupied by the priest. Even if the priest had some weird ability to predict the moves of others, if he was corned by a bunch of attacks all at once even he would take some damage. With that thought in mind, Zuko continued to mix up the direction of his blasts until he finally had him right where he wanted him. Bringing both his hands together, Zuko charged up an attack that he soon sent roaring towards the cornered priest. Just when he thought he had him, Satori grinned and brought his palm forward where it met the head of the comet of fire. To Zuko's shock, the impact did not burn the priest's hands like he had been expecting. Instead, his flames were dissipated into thin air.

"What the..." he started.

In that moment of shock, Zuko was caught unawares as Satori appeared right in front of him. "It's not a punch," explained the sinister round man, bringing his palm level with Zuko's face. "It's an... IMPACT!" he shouted, as his palm collided against Zuko's face.

A blast of what felt like finely compressed air combusted against the prince's face and sent him reeling backwards. Blood gushed from Zuko's nose and mouth. His back collided against a nearby tree and he slumped to the ground in pain. Everything inside him felt like it was going to break apart. After a few seconds of dazed confusion, the prince raised his head to see that even Ussop was not spared from the attack. His form lay sprawled on top of a shrub close by.

_Shit, _thought Zuko. _Even with four people we can't seem to put a scratch on this guy._

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw as Sanji was once again attacked by the priest, this time with enough force to knock him out completely. Growling in frustration, Zuko pushed himself up and began sending bigger fireballs at his adversary. The priest dodged each and every one with ease, even with Luffy joining in with his own attacks. Nothing seemed to be working.

Finally having enough, Luffy thrust both his arms backwards and charged up one of his strongest punches.

"**Gomu Gomu no…BAZOOKA!**" he yelled, bringing both his fists forward at break-neck speed.

Unfazed, Satori brought his palm forward one more. Expecting another shockwave attack, Zuko was surprised when nothing happened.

_It's almost as if… he absorbed the blow!_

Realizing that fact just a little too late, Zuko watched in horror as the priest turned towards him and grinned. Thrusting his palm forwards and into his chest, Zuko gasped in pain. Blood poured from his mouth and his eyes went wide in shock. Crashing into yet another tree, Zuko convulsed on the ground. The attack had hit him right on his new scar from Azula and brought forth waves of excruciating agony. Closing his eyes, Zuko's world went quiet.

"Zuko!" shouted Luffy.

"Hahaho!" laughed the priest. "That's two down, two to go."

"You bastard! You're gonna pay for that," yelled Luffy, resuming his attack on Satori.

Satori laughed and called out his ultimate attack. "Surprise Ball Chain! Ball Dragon!" A string of connected balls with the face of a dragon head glued to the front ball appeared and began charging towards Luffy who was winding up for a punch. "You should know, one touch will set off a chain of surprise balls and result in one giant explosion!"

Ussop shuddered as he tackled Luffy to the ground. "Don't touch it Luffy! We'll die if you do."

"Then what am I supposed to do if I can't hit it," complained Luffy.

"AS IF I WOULD KNOW!" yelled Ussop. The dragon closed in on them causing the two to get up and start running for their lives.

While they were running Luffy began to laugh. "Shishishi. I just thought of a really cool idea." Using a tree as leverage to jump over the top of the dragon, Luffy grabbed hold of the string Satori was using to control the dragon. Breaking the string in half, Luffy propelled himself towards Satori with the dragon in tow. Satori screamed in terror as he realized Luffy's plan, but was powerless to stop it thanks to the string that Luffy still held in his grasp. Within seconds Luffy reached the priest and smashed the dragon into him, causing a massive explosion.

The dust cleared to reveal Luffy atop of Satori and restricting his movements. "Get… get off of me you idiot!" screamed "You jerk! Pervert!" His screams fell on deaf ears though as Luffy refused to loosen his grip.

Zuko opened his eyes from all of the commotion. Every bone in his body ached. He tried to lift himself off of the ground, but quickly gave up. _Pathetic, _he thought to himself. Luffy had managed to somehow defeat the priest all while Zuko had been sleeping.

"Good job Luffy," came a voice that pissed Zuko off to no end. "Don't let that Dango-guy get away," Sanji said.

"Oh, Sanji. You're still alive?" Luffy said in a surprised voice.

"I'M NEARLY DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" he screamed. "Tch, but whatever. Oi, Dango-man. You kept going on and about Ordeal this and Ordeal that, but I don't even remember any of it. However, now I'll let you experience a special service, the Great Flying Shitty Ordeal. Two delicate ladies are waiting for me, their knight, to come to their rescue, and you've done a good job of interfering with that. Basically, you could say, this is the ordeal of Love!" said Sanji with a seriously pissed off face.

_What a moron,_ thought Zuko. However, as much as he wanted to deny it, the fact that Sanji still had the energy to stand and talk big spoke volumes about his vitality. The same went for Luffy. Both of them had been hit just as hard as Zuko had, perhaps even harder, and yet both were still standing as opposed to Zuko. Resilience was one factor that Zuko had prided himself on. He had always been able to get up and keep fighting. But these guys, these _monsters,_ put his endurance to shame.

Sanji jumped high into the air and delivered a devastating axe kick right to the skull of the fallen priest, knocking him out for good and finally putting an end to the tiresome battle.

_Even after all that damage he took he was still able to pull off such a feat. _Zuko clenched his fists and grit his teeth. _To think such monsters existed. Just how much have I been kidding myself? _Sanji and Luffy had turned Zuko's world upside down. Sanji, who didn't even have a mysterious "devil-fruit" or any other kind of magical ability, was still able to outdo Zuko with monstrous strength and perseverance. Also, Zuko had a feeling that this wasn't even the bottom of their potential, not to mention the strength of the rest of the crew, particularly Robin and the green-haired swordsman.

Zuko was broken out of his musing by a sharp kick to his gut.

"How long do you plan on sleeping there? Let's go," Sanji ordered.

Zuko growled. "Don't tell me what to do."

The blonde-haired cook shrugged and turned away. "Suit yourself. In fact, that's a good idea. Why don't you stay here for the rest of your life? I could live without seeing that arrogant mug of yours."

_That settles it. I'm gonna train so hard till I finally surpass him and when I do, I'm gonna beat that bloody eyebrow right off him! _vowed Zuko.

Begrudgingly, and with great difficulty, the prince got to his feet and trailed after the others.

-X-

It wasn't long after the group of four had finally gotten back onto their boat when distant explosions were heard deep in the forest.

"Sounds like a battle," voiced Zuko who was still recovering from the past fight and was currently slouched against the edge of the boat. Sanji, Luffy, and even Ussop had all seemed to completely regain their energy and were acting up as usual. _Damn monsters and their damn recovery rates, he_ muttered.

"Oi, wake up you marimo!" said Ussop.

"Huh? Morning already?" Luffy said in perfect imitation of Zoro.

Ussop laughed hysterically. "That's just like him, Luffy."

Sanji twitched in anger and shot back at the pair, "Would you two quit goofing off! We still have no idea where Nami-san and Robin-chan are."

His words were said in vain as Luffy continued his antics. "This is the Ordeal of Love," he mocked while pretending to smoke a cigarette.

Sanji, fed up with the stupidity, beat the two of them until they were covered with bruises. "For now let's just continue on to finding the others. Agreed?"

The pair's faces were enlarged three times their natural size thanks to the beating Sanji had given them. "Bes. Be're bewwy sawwy, " they apologized through swollen lips.

"Oi, why the hell did you hit me as well? You bastard!" yelled Zuko who was now sporting another bruise on his head to go along with all the others he still had.

Staring ahead and not looking apologetic at all, Sanji brushed off Zuko's complaints. "Ah. Sorry, about that Scarface. I guess I didn't realize you were still here."

"Liar! You did that on purpose!" Zuko roared.

"Instead of worrying about ourselves we should focus on saving the others," said Sanji, deflecting the argument.

"Whatever," relented Zuko. "Just know that when I do recover, I'm gonna burn your corpse to ashes."

Sanji brushed him off. "Hai, hai."

The fire prince would have continued his argument with the pirate cook, but a shout from Ussop revealed the sight of the Going Merry perched atop the Sacrificial Altar straight ahead. Making their way past a dozen or so knocked out sky-sharks, the group of four were met with their missing comrades.

"Bought time you showed," grinned the green-haired swordsman. "What's the matter, did you get lost Ero-cook?"

Said cook twitched in anger. "I DON'T WANNA HEAR THAT FROM YOU!"

Robin giggled as she approached them. "Looks like everyone's here."

A soft sobbing came from the whimpering form of the long-nosed sniper, who had rushed up to hug the precious ship. "I've missed you Merry!"

Noticing the missing mast, Chopper approached him with a sad face. "I'm sorry Ussop. Merry got damaged again."

"Don't worry about it," smiled Ussop to Chopper's relief. "The important thing is that you're safe. You had to face one of those priests too, right? Things must have been difficult for you too."

Chopper wiped the tears from his eyes. "Yeah, I would've been a goner though if it wasn't for the flying knight," he said in reference to Gan Fall who lay bandaged a few feet away.

Zoro walked toward the center of the ship drinking a bottle of sake. "It won't be long before more of those priests show up here. We should probably make camp along the shore."

Nodding in agreement Zuko added, "Good idea. It'll be much easier to fight from land in contrast to on the ship. That is, if you don't want to damage her any more than she already is." Ussop and Chopper both shook their heads rapidly.

"Yosh!" Luffy exclaimed. "Let's fry up some of these sky-sharks and have a barbeque," he cried. "Barbeque! Barbeque!"

Zuko regarded the captain with a sigh. "That's not what I meant. It's just that…"

"Barbeque! Barbeque!" Zuko's attempt at logical was utterly destroyed by the carefree attitude of one Monkey D. Luffy. It didn't take long for the rest of the crew to entertain the idea and begin making preparations for a party.

_These people are insane. _Zuko could not even begin to fathom how on earth the group of pirates had managed to survive this long with such reckless abandon. Then again, thinking back to their monstrous strength and steadfast perseverance, they were probably so used to doing things their way and fighting their way through problems that the threat of an ambush didn't even faze them anymore. Even Ussop, who Zuko categorized as a Class A coward, refused to put out the fire once they were done with it, claiming that it was "human nature" and a "man's romance" to want to have a campfire.

The appearance of a wild pack of wolves didn't even do so much as startle them. In fact, after a few words from Chopper who was able to communicate with all animals, and a viscous punch from the navigator, Nami, the wolves began to party along with the pirates. Zuko could only stare with his mouth open at the ridiculous sight of the pirates dancing around the fire with the wolves. To his right Zuko saw Zoro drinking sake with another wolf, who was also happily lapping up the stuff in a large bowl.

"They sure are lively, aren't they Zuko-san," came the lovely voice of the ship's archaeologist.

Zuko sighed and turned to face her. "This whole thing is beyond me. Don't they realize that we're still in danger? Those priests are still out there along with Enel."

Giggling, Robin sat down next to the prince. "That's just how they are. Captain-kun can be eccentric sometimes, but he genuinely means well." The two watched as Luffy danced and sang and occasionally snatched food from the others with his strange stretching ability. Everyone was laughing and having a good time that Zuko was reminded of his uncle. Smiling at the thought, Zuko knew that his uncle would have fit in just perfectly in this kind of environment. He was never the type to turn down a good party.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, taking a sip from one of the few non-alcoholic drinks.

Turning around to face the prince, Robin cupped one hand under her chin and smiled, the other hand resting comfortably on her knees. "What? Asking me out on a date already?"

Spitting out the contents of his drink and sputtering, Zuko frantically waved his hands and shook his head, blushing all the while. "What? No! Of course not!"

Robin chuckled. "Relax. I was just teasing you." She moved her hand and placed it onto the prince's upper thigh, smiling innocently and causing the firebender to gulp. "So? What is it you wish to ask me, _Zuko-kun?"_

"I-I was just going to ask you why you chose to follow a man like him?"

Robin smiled and removed her hand from Zuko's body, the faint traces of a blush still visible upon his face. "That's an interesting question." Raising her head slightly to gaze upon the glowing stars, Robin pondered the question. "I suppose it's because he gave me a new reason for living."

Intrigued, Zuko leaned forward and studied the archaeologist more closely. The shadows from the blazing bonfire cast an illuminating glow upon her figure, her eyes were filled with wistful reminiscence of some event long past.

"Luffy-kun showed me that I didn't have to live in the darkness anymore. Thanks to him, I found a new purpose in life. It's amazing what a few good friends can do for a person."

Reflecting on that, Zuko couldn't help but agree. Without Uncle by his side, he had no idea how he would have turned out. It probably wouldn't have been good. Uncle could be annoying and hard to understand at times, but he was Zuko's voice of reason and consciousness and he was always there to lend a hand.

"He certainly is a remarkable young man," came the voice of Gan Fall who appeared behind the two. "You all have shaken things up here on Sky Island. If anyone can stop Enel, I'll place my bet on you lot." Plopping down on a nearby rock, the old man sighed. "I'm sorry for being such a burden to you all."

Zoro stopped his drinking to regard the old man. "What are you talking about? You saved Chopper's life and protected Merry. Thanks for that."

Robin greeted Gan Fall with a pleasant smile. "Swordsman-san is right. You've been a big help to us. It's good to see you're finally up as well, Knight-san. Are you sure you should be up and moving around though?"

Nodding his head in thanks, Gan Fall petted his flying horse that had followed the old knight. "It's alright, I'm feeling much better than I was. I'm getting a little too old for all this ruckus, though."

Soon the others noticed his arrival and greeted him in kind. Luffy smiled and waved with chopsticks in his nose, to Zuko's disgust, and Chopper ran up to the man and hugged him tightly. Gan Fall chuckled and told the little reindeer that everything was fine and it wasn't his fault and that he did a good job patching him up.

Once everything had settled down a bit Nami called everyone to join together in a circle. The crew shared the adventures they had survived recently, as well as shared intel on their enemies and predicament. Thanks to Nami, the group now knew that the "City of Gold" that had been missing on Jaya didn't disappear; it had been shot up into the sky. In fact, they were standing on ground that had been a part of Jaya hundreds of years ago. In other words, the City of Gold was somewhere on this island.

Smiling at the thought of gaining all that goal, Nami began to tell the group what they would be doing the upcoming day. "Tomorrow we'll split up into two groups. Zuko, Sanji and Ussop will be with me on the ship along with Gan Fall. The rest of you will head inland towards God's Land and try to take out Enel and his priests."

The news brought hearts to Sanji's eyes. He started dancing around rejoicing at the fact that he would be able to be on the ship with Nami. Zuko, however, was not amused to have to be stuck with Sanji again. "Tch, and here I thought I'd finally be rid of him," he muttered under his breath.

Smirking at the idea that he would be on the ground force, Zoro couldn't wait to finally be able to fight some priests. "Maybe I'll get to fight God as well," he said out loud.

Chopper looked at him with stars in his eyes, shouting out how cool he was to not be scared of God while Ussop tried to shush Zoro's blasphemous boasts. "This is God we're talking about, Zoro. Anybody called God has gotta be powerful and scary you know!"

Zoro smirked in disregard to Ussop's pleas. "Heh. I'm not afraid of him. Besides, I don't even believe in God, remember?"

Nami turned away and folded her hands in prayer. "Oh, Kami-sama. Please forgive me for being near this barbaric man. Destroy him if you must, but please spare me."

"Oi! You witch! Why are you trying to get me destroyed," shouted Zoro.

After seeing Zoro yell at Nami, Sanji stopped cooking so that he could kick him in the head. "Don't you dare yell at Nami-swan, you shitty marimo!"

Zoro snarled at Sanji's cheap shot. "Why don't you stay out of this before I slice you up, Ero-Cook?" Several insults were exchanged between the two before they started fighting with each other. Nami shook her head in disdain while Luffy just laughed as he watched them fight.

The antics of the crew continued along with the rest of the party well into the night before things finally died down. Everyone was sleeping soundly under the full moon in preparation for the long day ahead of them. Everyone, that is, but one.

Gazing into the deep night sky, Zuko was reminded of the long nights during the first few months of his banishment. Back then his nights were plagued with dreams of fire and pain so he would often forego sleep in favor of meditation or some extra late-night training. After a few hours of that he would leave his cabin and wander the deck in silence, peering into the distant horizon of the vast blue ocean. For some reason, the calm lull of the sea would help set his mind at ease.

Sighing in resignation, Zuko rose. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep tonight. Deciding to talk a little walk, the prince ambled off in a random direction. While he walked he thought of everything that had happened to him these past few days. The events of Ba Sing Se were still fresh in his mind. Zuko wondered how differently things would have been had he made a different choice and sided with Azula instead. He would probably be home right now, the place he had been yearning to return to for so long. But Zuko knew that things wouldn't have worked out so smoothly. Things never went the way he wanted them to. _Besides, Uncle looked so proud when I sided with the Avatar. It felt… nice. _Steeling his resolve, Zuko vowed to stop dwelling on the past. _What's done is done. All that matters now is that I find a way to return home. _Thoughts of his defeat against the priest, Satori, flooded his mind. He clenched his fists. _Next time, I won't lose to that bastard. _

Vowing to get stronger, Zuko headed back in the direction of the camp. A steady pounding put him on alert. _It sounds like a hammer. Is Ussop trying to fix the ship by himself? _As he got closer to his destination, a cold feeling washed across his body. _This feeling, it's almost like…_ Breaking through the bushes and into the open area of their camp, Zuko's eyes flew open in shock.

There was no mistaking it. The previously broken mast now stood upright, but it was not Ussop on the ship. Standing there, in the middle of the ship and holding a transparent hammer, was a _spirit._

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Oh... snap. There's a spirit involved. This is an idea I've been wanting to express ever since I came up with the idea of sending Zuko to the One Piece universe, so I can't wait to exploit it in the next chapter!

And yeah, Zuko's definitely feeling down about being bested by Sanji and Luffy and the Priest. I believe he has confidence issues, though he would never admit that out loud. He's used to other people always being one step better than him, and it pisses him off.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to review this story. It means a lot to me and I love reading what you guys have to say. So please review if you have the time!

**gamelover41592: **Nope. That's just be the end of the first part. Once I get to that point I'm going to start posting snippets and parts of the two years that he spends training. There are a few ideas I want to share and I feel that they would be best posted in their own separate section. If people like this story enough I'll work on the post time skip arcs as well, which will contain allusions to his two years of training.

**untied fate: **Thanks! I really appreciate it! Haha the bickering is always the funnest parts to write.

**Michael: **Glad you enjoy it. Don't worry, romance is not the central theme of this story. At least, I don't plan to have it take away too much of everything else that goes on.

**The Samurai Prince: **A late review is better than no review. ^_^ Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. And no problem, I enjoyed your story and hope everything works out for you regarding your future! Good Luck!


	8. Spirit!

_Chapter 7_

_Spirit!_

Tense seconds passed by as the firebender gaped at the spirit in shock. He wanted to be wrong, to fall back on his common sense and dismiss the scene as sleep deprivation, but too many years of hanging around his Uncle had taught him to revere the supernatural, or at least to beware of their power. And this creature, this _spirit,_ gave off an ethereal aura. Its energy, though, seemed gentle and harmless, quite different from the spirits often depicted in the myths and legends of his world. The spirit, for its part, continued to hammer away at the ship. All of a sudden, the hammering stopped and the spirit turned to meet Zuko's open eyes with an open smile. Shaking out of his stupor, Zuko mustered as much strength as he could and found his voice. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

Silence.

The spirit's gaze lingered on Zuko's form. Beads of sweat began to roll down the prince's forehead.

More silence.

"Why are you here?" Still, the spirit betrayed no hint as to why he was here. Zuko was starting to lose patience. Spirit or not, he could at least communicate in some way. One sided conversations were nothing but a drag.

Taking a deep breath, Zuko slowly counted to ten to cool his head and calm his mind. Steeling himself, he once again tried his hand at getting some answers. "I know what you are, Spirit. So tell me, why are you on this ship?"

For the first time since he had laid eyes on the spirit, its expression changed. The open smile it bore widened and a joyful sound – _a laugh? – _reverberated through the forest. "I see. You are a special one, Master Firebender-san." Zuko narrowed his eyes in a glare. Was this spirit _mocking _him?

_Wait a second- it knows what I am!?_

"Are you sure you don't know _who_ Iam, though?" The spirit stared into Zuko's irises, its tone sounded almost _hurt. _"I guess it can't be helped. We only just met a few days ago, and we haven't had much time to get properly acquainted with one another. You are the newest addition, after all."

Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Zuko pondered on the spirits words. _We only just met? Newest addition? _Just what was this spirit going on about? A soft breeze drifted through the air. The light from the moon cast an eerie glow upon the ship. A strange energy rippled through Zuko's very being. Concentrating on that energy, he noticed a very peculiar fact. It felt very familiar. Almost like – Zuko's eyes flew open in astonishment. _This Spirit – this energy – it feels like Merry! _

If it was even possible, the Spirit – _Merry?– _widened its grin. "So you've finally realized, haven't you?"

His legs felt weak, as if they were about to give way right then and there, but Zuko held his ground. His body shook as he tried to process the recent information. _How is this even possible? _A million similar thought were racing through his head. _Have the others met this Spirit before as well? Did they even know? _Calming himself was become more difficult every second he thought about the sheer absurdness of it all. "What…? W-when…? How? "

The spirit closed its mouth and raised its head in thought. "Hmm? How? Do you mean how does a ship have a spirit? A _soul?"_

Zuko said nothing. He simply continued to gaze at the spirit in amazement.

Chuckling, the Spirit motioned for Zuko to come closer.

Carefully making his way to the edge of the shore, Zuko bent down to his knees and lowered his hands to the ground, closed them into fists, and concentrated. An abrupt combustion of flames erupted from his fists and propelled Zuko into the air. The technique was a more advanced move and required a steady output of fire to keep him from falling back to the ground. While Zuko had yet to fully master the technique, he was able to employ it in small quantities and for short bursts of time. If he could just increase his endurance, or at least find a way to harness energy quickly, this technique had the potential to become a valuable asset. Its fast drain on the energy of its users was what made it impractical for most benders. To use it effectively, one had to balance the distribution of energy that was poured into maintaining the power output which determined whether one would hover, fly, or fall headfirst into the dirt. Not to mention, the firebender had to have a large reserve of chi just to perform it in the first place. Fortunately, Zuko managed to make it all the way to the steps of the altar where the ship was perched without any problems, safely crossing the sky-shark infested clouds.

Zuko wasn't sure what had compelled him to listen to the Spirit, but he felt no immediate malice emanating from the ethereal being. Reaching the Spirit, Zuko leaned against the railing of the ship and motioned for it to continue. He ignored just how much _stronger_ the feel of the ship was now that he was up close and leaning against it. It definitely felt… _alive._

Now that he was up close and personal, Zuko could better make out the Spirit's form, though that wasn't saying much. There were no defining features it possessed. Its outlines made it out to somewhat look like the form of a man, but it was much different from what he was expecting in a spirit. It wasn't even _transparent. _It was simply white like the clouds that were plentiful on the island. The only thing he could make out, even at this distance, was its mouth, which was currently open in a smile, revealing a defining set of pearly white teeth.

"Let's see… how should I go about this? For starters, a ship is more than just a means to an end. It is a collection of memories. All the people who come aboard its decks, all the joy, all the laughter, all the good times and the bad are ingrained deeply within every nook and cranny and floorboard. And sometimes, once in a million really, a ship is blessed with a crew that's boisterous and caring."

Piecing together what the Ship-Spirit was hinting at, Zuko sat down. "You mean like the Straw Hats, right?"

The Spirit nodded. "Yes. Exactly like the Straw Hats. You've only just begun to travel with them, but I have been with them every step of the way. And I could not have asked for a better crew." Genuine gratitude seeped from the Spirit. "But sadly, I'm afraid that I won't be able to carry them on their journey."

Zuko frowned. "What do you mean?"

The Spirit seemed to deflate. "A ship can only last for so long. My body is wearing away as it is. It's only a matter of time before I break apart. I only hope that the others will have found a different boat by then."

Zuko stood up. It wasn't like him to get so riled up over something as trivial as having to change boats, but his time with the group of pirates was starting to change the way he thought and acted. "Hold up. I may not have been with them for long, but I know enough to know that they won't give you up so easily, especially Ussop." The mention of the long-nosed pirate caused something resembling a tear to fall from where Zuko guessed the Spirit's eyes would have been, could he see them. "He loves this ship more than anyone. He tries so hard to fix you up. There's no way he'll let you go!"

The Spirit sighed. "For the sake of the crew, he has to. My only wish is to carry them just a little further. No amount of fixing will be enough to save me, Zuko."

"There has to be another way!"

The Spirit of the Going-Merry shook its head sadly. "I wish there was, but there isn't. Please, Zuko, you must convince them."

Zuko covered his face with his hands and sighed. "How am I supposed to do that? How am I supposed to tell them that they have to trash the ship they love so much?"

"You will find a way. I am sorry to ask such a task of you, after all that you have been through."

Alarm bells went off in Zuko's mind. "You… how do you know about me? I haven't told anyone about my past besides Robin, and even then I didn't tell her much."

The Spirit's eye twinkled with mischief. "You stepped foot on this ship, Young Prince. This ship is my domain. From the second you stepped on, your soul formed a bond with it, no matter how small or brief it may have been." Zuko's eyes were wide in disbelief. "I told you earlier, didn't I? A ship is a home, a haven for those who seek it. As they sleep their dreams, their memories, they all seep into the very floorboards. The longer they stay the stronger the bond until they become one with the ship and the ship becomes one with the crew." The Spirit giggled. "Don't worry though; your secrets are safe with me."

Zuko frowned as he processed the information. While he wasn't exactly comfortable with the fact that this Spirit apparently knew his deepest and darkest secrets, there wasn't much he could do about it. Besides, there was something more important that he wanted to find out. He looked up at the Spirit. "Can I ask you something?" A nod from the Spirit led Zuko to continue. "Do you know how I can get back to my own world? Back to my home?"

A sigh from the Spirit dashed Zuko's hopes. "I'm sorry, but I do not. The door that connects your world and this one was open only for a split second. It must have taken a very powerful spirit just to open it in the first place." Zuko was reminded of the Avatar and how he was glowing brightly the last time he saw him. "The spirits of this world have grown weary over the years. Their power is but a fraction of what it once was. In contrast, the people here are tremendously strong. Also, this world contains a dark secret, one that has been kept hidden for over 800 years. Would you like to know what it is?" The Spirit smirked, waiting to see Zuko's answer.

Zuko waved his hand in dismissal. "No. Besides, I have a feeling if I stick around with these guys long enough, I'm bound to figure out some pretty deep shit, whether I want to or not."

The Spirit laughed a joyous laugh. "A good answer! I look forward to having you aboard my decks, Prince Zuko!"

"I do have one more question though," continued Zuko. The Spirit smiled and motioned him to continue. "How is it that I can see you? I've never been able to see spirits before. In fact, as far as I know, the only mortal man that could was my Uncle, and that was only after his journey into the Spirit World."

The Spirit's smile widened. "Oh? But didn't I just tell you how you got here in the first place." Zuko's eye's widened in understanding. "Yes, that's right. When you entered this world you did so by passing through the doors that connect your world with this one. There are many doors, Prince Zuko, all leading to different paths, to different doors, to different worlds. I may not know much about the other worlds, but I hear some of them are pretty wild!"

The Spirit chuckled. "Anyways, these 'doors' are accessible only through specific points. _Spiritual points._"

Realization dawned fully on the prince. "The Spirit World. I must have passed through it. That's how I can see you. When the Avatar went into the Avatar State, he must have opened a doorway to this world through the Spirit World and sucked me into it."

Smiling, the Spirit nodded. "Yes, that appears to be the case. Unfortunately, I don't have the power to open up another doorway. You'll have a hard time finding many spirits that can, especially in this world. I'm afraid you'll just have to stick around for a while."

Zuko sighed and nodded. While he was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to go back for some time still, he found that things were not as bad as they could be. At least he had run into some good people. Although, it was pretty creepy that he had the ability to see spirits now.

With all the excitement that had taken place, exhaustion began to overcome the firebender. The Spirit gave one last smile to the prince, before turning back to the broken mast. "Now, I think that's enough for one night. Rest easy, Master Firebender." A deep yawn escaped the scarred man's lips. He hadn't realized just how late it had gotten. In a few short hours, the sun would rise to give way to a new day, and Zuko's adventures would continue. The Spirit began to hammer away once more.

Zuko gave another yawn as the edges of his vision began to grow black.

"Sleep, Young Prince. And remember, keep this little meeting of ours a secret, ne?"

-X-

"…uko… Zuko.. Zuko!"

Zuko's eyelids shot open. Dazed, the prince regained his bearings. Free from his slumber, Zuko noticed two things. First, he had instinctively grabbed Ussop's hands and had a flaming fist mere inches away from the boy's freakishly long nose. Second, the rest of the crew were scattered around the deck of the ship, gawking at the numerous patch jobs that decorated the exterior. Releasing Ussop from his grip and extinguishing his flames, Zuko groggily shook away the last traces of sleep form his mind.

Nami walked up next to him. "Zuko, did you do all of this by yourself last night?"

Zuko sighed. _So last night wasn't a dream. _Remembering the promise he had made with the spirit of the ship, Zuko nodded in affirmation. He didn't trust himself to speak. He never was the greatest liar, after all.

Chopper circled him in awe. "So cool! I didn't know you could fix ships!"

It wasn't a total lie. Being banished and traveling the ocean on a ship for the better part of three years had forced Zuko to gain some rudimentary knowledge in patch jobs and simple fixes. However, that knowledge had been intended for the Fire Nation's sleek metal warships. A wooden ship was a different story altogether.

Ussop grinned up at him. Forgetting how he had been inches away from a burned off nose, the sniper slapped Zuko on the back in joyous fervor. "Well it's not much, but it's a lot better than I could have even hoped for. Thanks a lot, Zuko!"

The rest of the crew cheered for Zuko as well. A few moments later, Nami strode to the middle of the group and reminded the others of the plan to take down Enel and find the hidden gold. After freeing the ship from its perch on the altar, the group went their separate ways, knowing that it wouldn't be forever. Sanji, Nami, Ussop and Zuko stood at the edge of the ship, watching as their friends headed off and disappeared into the dense forest.

Zuko knew that the battles ahead would be tough. He had barely made it out alive against one priest. If Sanji and Luffy hadn't been there to finish him off, he probably wouldn't even be here right now. However, as difficult as it may be, Zuko found himself itching for a fight and let off some steam. It was almost as if the Straw Hats were rubbing off on him. He may have failed before, but Zuko never was one to give up. Not without a fight.

Not without redeeming himself.

The Straw Hats may have separated for now, but they would be back together again soon enough. Soon they would be reunited. Soon they would continue their adventures on the Grand Line. And soon they would shake the very foundations of this world.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, there you go, Zuko meets the Spirit of the Going Merry himself.

Ever since I had the idea of actually writing a crossover between these two shows, I've been wanted to write this scene. I don't know why exactly, I guess it had to do with the fact that spirits are a pretty big deal in Avatar and Zuko's uncle actually entered the Spirit World and gained the ability to see Spirits himself.

That said, I'm a little disappointed in how this turned out. Despite my discomfort, I'm posting it anyway if only to keep to my promise. I don't think it was _that _bad, I guess I was just hoping it would turn out better. I don't know. Hopefully you guys enjoy it though.

Anyway, for those of you who read my other story, _The Flame to Kill a Titan, _I apologize for the delay. I'll try to post it within the next few days. I had to choose between several different paths to take that would change the story dramatically. Hopefully, I made the right choice.

And for those of you who haven't read my other story yet, I highly recommend that you do. At least check out the first two chapters and let me know what you think. Some of you may not have heard of Attack on Titan, in which case you should definitely check out the anime. It's action packed right from the start and epic to the max. Of course, if you're squeamish, then steer clear. It's not for the faint of heart.

Once again, thanks for the reviews!

**gamelover41592: **Yep, he'll definitely learn Haki, but in due time.

**untied fate **and **TexasBean: **Thanks for the review and glad you like it so far! As for your questions:

1) Zuko can see Merry's spirit because of the fact that when Aang went into the Avatar State, he let out a little too much power and accidently triggered a doorway to the Spirit World. Poor Zuko got sucked in when the energy from the lightning still circulating in his body from Azula's attack mixed with the spiritual energy created by Aang. Zuko's uncle was said to have gone on a journey into the Spirit World after his son's death, which allowed him to see spirits in the real world, which was confirmed when he saw Roku's dragon in like, the first episode of Season 2 I think. Since Zuko passed through the Spirit World as well, he can now do the same. Plus, Ussop was also able to see the spirit of Merry as well, but I think that had more to do with the fact that he was so attached to the ship.

2) Yep. Haki is a must, though it won't be for a while.

3) You're just gonna have to wait and see! The arc I'm focusing on after this is Enies Lobby, so I'll let you take from that what you will ;)

**The Samurai Prince: **Haha, yeah. Zuko's got a long ways to go before he can cut it with the top dogs. Good thing he's got badasses like Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji to take notes from.


	9. Enel

Distant booms and shouts echoed through the forest. The heavy drums of war disturbed the normally peaceful land and scattering the living organisms within. A frenzied commotion of explosions and gunfire mixed in with the sound of swords on flesh. Blood stained the ancient trees that had been otherwise untouched by man for over 400 years. Shandian's, the tribe descended from the great warrior Calgara, roared as they fought to reclaim the land their ancestors had once walked on freely. Their will clashed with that of Enel's priests and God's Army, who were unwilling to abandon the largest deposit of soil, or Vearth as they called it, found in the sky.

A few miles away, a beat-up ship meandered along the Milky Way cloud river, its occupants proceeding about their day in perfect nonchalance and indifference towards the sounds of battle, except for Ussop of course, who bit his nails and spouted nonsense about Kami's wrath descended upon sinners.

The double doors that led to the interior of the ship burst open as Sanji emerged carrying a tray which held a beautifully decorated plate of grilled sky-shark and one glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. He smiled and began to skip towards Nami who sat reading a book in the center of the deck. "Nami-swan! Your knight has brought you some food made with love!"

Looking up from her book, Nami nodded in thanks. "Arigatou, Sanji-kun." Placing a forkful into her mouth she squealed in delight. "It's delicious!"

Sanji grinned stupidly in bliss. "I couldn't have you starving, now could I?" Heart shaped eyes practically bulged out of the cook's sockets. "Well!? Do you love me Nami-swaaan!?" The orange haired beauty sighed at Sanji's antics, but muttered a quick 'Hai, hai" in response, much to the delight of the squealing, love-struck cook.

"Mellorine~ Mellorine~"

At the mention of food, Ussop and Zuko both sauntered over to the aroma of the delicious dish. Frowning at the small portion at hand, Ussop voiced his thoughts. "Um, Sanji, what about Zuko and I?"

The pleasant atmosphere from before, morphed into one of resentment. Sanji glared at the two. "You shitty guys can just starve."

Just as suddenly as it came, the dark mood disappeared when Sanji turned back to Nami with hearts in his eyes. "How is it, Nami-san? Did you especially like the orange juice I squeezed fresh just for you?"

"It's delicious," came a gruff voice that was most certainly _not _Nami's. Forcing his eyes open, Sanji watched in horror as Zuko finished draining the glass and slammed it back onto the tray. "Could've used a bit more pulp if you asked me, though."

Sanji's arms began to tremble as his legs itched in anticipation for a fight. His face was paralyzed in a sort of false smile that spelled danger. "Is that so? So sorry for that then. Shall I go get you another glass?"

Zuko noticed the telltale signs of a man who was being pushed to the brink and realized that it would be better for everyone if he just apologized and moved on with the mission. Then again, he always was the confrontational sort and preferred to do things the hard way. "Yeah, sure. Why don't you go do that then." Motioning with his hands for Sanji to move along, the firebender turned and looked away.

That did it for Sanji. He practically flew in front of Zuko and started screaming right in his face. "HOW ABOUT I POUR SOME CYANIDE IN THAT GLASS INSTEAD, YOU SHITTY FIREBENDER!"

Zuko lifted his head in annoyance and closed the eye closest to Sanji. "Oi, what the hell is your problem? And could you please remove your head from my field of vision. You're an eyesore."

"MY PROBLEM? MY PROBLEM? THAT WAS NAMI-SWAN'S JUICE!" Sanji moved even closer to Zuko until his red face was even closer. "AND WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING AN EYESORE, SCARFACE?"

"Tch. Whatever. Just go get her another glass then." Shooing the cook along Zuko walked away. In his hands Sanji saw that he had stolen a piece of the sky-shark dish from Nami's plate. Gulping the piece down in one bite, the prince chewed and lifted his head in thought. "Could be spicier."

Screaming in rage, Sanji lunged for the firebender. He was stopped by Ussop who had grabbed a hold of him just in time. "Let me go Ussop! I'll kill him! I'll cut him up and feed him to the sea kings or the sky-sharks or whatever else likes the taste of grilled firebender!"

Ussop struggled to maintain his hold on the steaming cook who continued to try to break free while Zuko looked on in amusement. "Calm down, Sanji! This is not the time for us to be fighting. We're on God's land, remember?"

Nami's aggravation grew more and more with every insult, plea, and mocking laugh that entered her ears. She clenched her book within her hands, the novel threatening to break in two under her irritation. All she wanted was to get some gold and get back to the Blue Sea alive, was that so much to ask? Instead she had to babysit a group of fools who didn't know how to behave themselves. "You guys… JUST SHUT UP!" Moving the wrath and fury of a woman scorned, the Straw Hat's navigator bopped each of the pirates on the head… hard.

Sanji, Ussop and Zuko all fell to the ground with a thud. Red lumps appeared on the tops of the pirate's heads. Ussop whimpered in pain. "Why did I get hit as well?"

Nami growled in front of the three idiots and scolded them like a mother to their child. "Why is it that you feel the need to pick a fight with each other every second of the day?"

Zuko pointed to Sanji. Sanji pointed to Zuko. "He started it," they both declared in unison. They looked at each other in disdain and growled, only to cower back in fear when Nami began screaming again.

"I don't care who started it, I'M ENDING IT!"

Gulping, the two pirates nodded and stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"Now the two of you better not fight for the rest of the day, got it?" The two nodded. "Good. If you do, I'll increase your debt."

Zuko was confused, as well as a little pissed. He was a Prince goddammit! These people should be honored to have him in their presence! _I've only been with these guys for less than a week! What debt could I have possibly accrued in that short time?_ With the intention of getting the answer to that question, Zuko voiced his concern. "Um… I pretty much just got here so… what debt are you talking about?"

Nami turned her head slowly towards the downed firebender. She smiled sweetly and innocently, but for some reason Zuko found that even scarier than if she hadn't. "Why, your boarding debt of course. You hitched a ride along with us, but I don't recall you paying any transportation fees. Plus, there's the debt for using the services of our doctor. Medicine doesn't come cheap, you know? But that's the price you pay for living." She laughed as she continued to list every little thing Zuko had done that could possibly be charged, and several things that were completely unethical to charge.

"Why should I pay you for the medicine? Chopper is the one who fixed me up!"

Undeterred, Nami didn't lose her creepy smile. "That's because I'm the ship's treasurer, as well as navigator. And because I say so." Suddenly, the scene behind her seemed to turn black and her eyes opened in anger. "You gonna try to skip out on your bill?"

Zuko paled. An old saying from the days when he was forced into playing with his sister and her friends passed through his head. _Girls are crazy._ And he knew all too well the kinds of terrible things a crazy woman was capable of. He caved and looked away. "Tch. Fine, whatever."

The scary aura behind her vanished and she smiled. "As long as you understand."

As she walked away Sanji's eyes morphed into hearts and he wailed. "Wah! Nami-san is so beautiful when she's scolding others. Come back Nami-swan! Punish me as well!"

Zuko was about to call him an idiot, but he stopped himself after thinking about how she might actually come back if he did. He sighed in defeat. _Great. I'm stuck in a different world were logic doesn't make sense with a group of pirates that have got to be crazy, and now I'm in debt as well. I can't wait to find out what will happen next._

-X-

The next hour or so was quiet. Gan Fall had awakened and explained to the group the history behind the war with Skypeia and Shandia, as well as the conquest of Enel. He also showed them an impact dial and displayed its power through a demonstration. After using force to attack the dial, they were able to discover that the shell absorbed the impact. Sanji was then instructed to turn it on its side facing a barrel and press the apex. An explosion of air shattered the barrel and propelled Sanji backwards. Sanji, Zuko and Ussop looked on in shock and realization. They knew this attack. They had experienced it firsthand.

"Oi, Zuko, Ussop, that's the same move that dango guy used on us."

Zuko glared at the dial. "So that's what he was doing. Using some cheap trick."

An unfamiliar voice interrupted the crew's revelation. "Then maybe you shouldn't have fallen for such a cheap trick, ne?"

Whirling around, Zuko saw that a strange man with the longest stretched out earlobes he had ever seen was sitting on the railing of the ship, looking at them with amusement. _Gross, what the hell did he do to his ears?_

Gan Fall glared at the newcomer. "What are you doing here, Enel?"

_Enel? That's Enel?_

Ussop starting shaking in fear. "It's him! Kami!"

Wasting no time in waiting for a response, Sanji attacked the man in question as soon as he found out his identity. However, his kick was in vain as Enel appeared to disappear in an instant. Before he had a chance to react, Sanji was struck by high voltages of electricity. He fell to the floor in a heap and stopped moving, even as Nami and Ussop called out to him.

Zuko stared in shock. Sanji wasn't getting back up. _This isn't right, what are you doing just laying on the ground you stupid cook!? _It didn't seem real to the former prince. Sanji may have been an idiot, but he was strong. He had been able to endure blows that left Zuko envious. And now he was taken out just like that? In an instant? Sweat dripped down Zuko's forehead. This guy was the real deal. He was the one who had released that enormous pillar of lightning back in the town. Zuko could tell. He could _feel _it.

This man was powerful. More so than any man he had ever met before in his life. Even his father. The only one who came close was the Avatar, and only when he was in the Avatar State.

_But this is different. The Avatar is still a child. This man… he's a killer. There's not a shred of mercy in his eyes._

Rushing over to his aid, Ussop was met with a saddening revelation. Sanji's heart was not beating. "It's not there… his heart beat… it's not there… Sanji's… Sanji's dead!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, it happened. I missed my self imposed deadline. It was bound to happen sometime, but I'm sorry either way. Life decided to put things in high gear for me so it's been a little hectic. It's only gonna get a lot more hectic here in a few weeks too. Anyway, I know this seems short and all, but I wanted to put it out there anyway. I'll try to go on a writing frenzy these next couple days, because after this next week, updates are going to be delayed anywhere from 2 to 3 to possibly even a month at most. I apologize ahead of time, but that's just the way it's going to have to be for a little while.

On another point, thanks for all the reviews! It makes me happy!

**untied fate: **Thanks a ton. Haha sorry if I made you wait. And sorry to make this chapter end on a cliffhanger... I'll try to update it sooner this time so the wait isn't too long... I hope

**gamelover41592: **I haven't exactly figured that out yet. Definitely after foxy. I'll probably have him tell somewhere around the water 7 arc.

**StrangePointOfView: **I'm glad you like it. Just so you know, I really can't wait to write Zuko in Enies Lobby... Water 7 is one of my favorite arcs

**Michael: **Glad I ended up changing your mind. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as well

**Bigby the Big Bad Wolf: **That's what I want to hear

**SkittleZ: **Don't stop... continue to squeal like a little girl :)

**duskrider: **Thank you

**The Samurai Prince: **Oh I definitely want to bring in some more characters... I just don't want to become overwhelmed with too many. I've got a few characters in mind right now, but Katara is definitely off the list... sorry. Hopefully you'll like the one I'm thinking about

** : **Thanks!

Until next time, enjoy the story and let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.  
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	10. Electric Death

**_Previously, on Comet on the Grand Line..._**

_Gan Fall glared at the newcomer. "What are you doing here, Enel?"_

_Enel? That's Enel?_

_Ussop starting shaking in fear. "It's him! Kami!"_

_Wasting no time in waiting for a response, Sanji attacked the man in question as soon as he found out his identity. However, his kick was in vain as Enel appeared to disappear in an instant. Before he had a chance to react, Sanji was struck by high voltages of electricity. He fell to the floor in a heap and stopped moving, even as Nami and Ussop called out to him. _

_Rushing over to his aid, Ussop was met with a saddening revelation. Sanji's heart was not beating. "It's not there… his heart beat… it's not there… Sanji's… Sanji's dead!"_

* * *

_Chapter 9_

_Electric Death_

Nami cupped her hands over her mouth and stared in disbelief. "No…"

Zuko stood frozen in place. He hadn't even seen the man move and Sanji was already taken out. Sanji, who had been able to get up against the priest even though he had taken such a beating moments before, a feat that had annoyed Zuko to no end yet had left a grudging amount of respect for the blond cook. And now… he was gone… dead.

_Wait. _

Zuko had felt something. Concentrating, he focused on that feeling. After a few seconds his eyes widened. The prince struggled to find his voice. _I feel it. His energy… his life... it's still there! He's alive!_

Before he could tell the others that Sanji was alive, Nami pointed out to Ussop that he was checking the wrong side for his heart. Nearly smacking his head in disbelief, Zuko watched as Ussop checked the other side and confirmed that yes, Sanji was indeed still alive.

Then Ussop did something that was completely unexpected to Zuko. He stood up and shakily warned Enel to leave or face the wrath of his 8,000 followers. In retrospect, he probably shouldn't have threatened a man powerful enough to be revered as a God, as Enel once again disappeared in a flash and electrocuted Ussop.

_So fast! My eyes can't even keep up!_

Zuko could not believe what was happening. In just moments this guy had taken Ussop and Sanji out with no effort whatsoever. Sweat rolled down his forehead. To say that this guy was powerful was an understatement. _But he's using lightning. I can work with that._

With a deep breath, Zuko made his decision.

Punching forward, Zuko unleashed a torrent of fire at the 'god.' Enel rolled his eyes and flashed away before the attack could reach him. Reappearing several feet away, Enel casually lifted his finger and released a stream of lightning from his fingertips.

Zuko grinned. This had turned out better than he had hoped for. His eyes may not have been able to keep up, but years of experience of fighting foes much stronger than himself had allowed him to predict the possible areas of where his opponents would strike next. The fact that this man, this 'god' was so self-assured of his own powers gave Zuko hope that he would not go all out in the beginning of a fight.

He was right.

Instead of quickly knocking Zuko out with a blast of lightning to the face like he had with Sanji, Enel thought Zuko to be so far beneath him that he didn't bother putting much effort into assuring that his bolt would strike his opponent. Most likely he believed that the sheer speed of the bolt would be more than enough to bring Zuko down, like it had with Ussop. But Zuko was prepared for that and now he was about to give this droopy-eared bastard a taste of his own medicine.

Bringing his hands out in front of him, Enel gaped as Zuko _caught _his lightning. The entire stream was absorbed by Zuko who slid back several steps from the force of the lightning. Electrical charges shimmered into and out of existence all around him. Nami, who was about to scream in despair at the thought of losing another teammate, was mesmerized by the boy just a few years younger than herself who stood undeterred in the middle of a raging storm of energy and electricity. Standing there, in an elegant, yet almost feral stance, the scarred boy looked confident. Regal. Powerful.

For the first time since Enel had appeared, Nami felt something stir. Hope.

To Zuko, everything in the world seemed to stop. Time slowed. Zuko felt powerful, powerful enough to take on a god. All that energy built up inside of him, giving him new sensations and perceptions to the world around him. He began to see the world in a new light. Feel things that he had never felt before. Everything was heightened, strengthened by the added energy circulating through his veins. He relished in the energy he accumulated, the power that was rushing inside him, and the chirp and crackle of the lightning outside him.

But he also felt humbled. He remembered what had happened the last time he attempted to redirect lightning, the pain he had felt when everything had gone wrong, the feeling that he was dying. He remembered the warnings his uncle had issued him back when he was first teaching him about the nature of lightning. He didn't control it. He couldn't control it. Lightning bowed to no man. It was brutal. It was precise. One mistake, one misstep, and it would all be over. Zuko did not ever want to experience the feel of lightning entering his heart ever again. To be honest, he wasn't so sure he would survive another bout like that.

And so he calmed his breathing. He focused. He regained control, not over the lightning, but over his own body and senses. He didn't need to control the lightning. He didn't need to be its master. He just needed to _direct _it.

Zuko pointed his fingers right at the heart of the shocked Enel. An equally shocked Gan Fall and an overly shocked Nami watched as the lightning surrounding Zuko, the lightning he had _caught,_ shot forward like a missile. The lightning evaporated with a wave of Enel's hands, but the anger that he had _dared_ to shoot his own lightning back at _him, _pissed Enel off in more ways than one.

_I did it! I redirected lightning! _

With rising confidence, Zuko began his counterattack. Shot after shot of blazing hot fire flew from his fists to the general direction of Enel. None of his attacks connected, and a few even seemed to pass _through _the 'god' of the sky, but Zuko was not about to be overwhelmed. He was used to fighting stronger opponents.

Nami watched the scene unfold with bated breath. Zuko seemed to be holding his own, true, but his attacks weren't even fazing Enel. Still, she was impressed with the level of skill and control Zuko displayed. He moved like a tiger, utilizing quick and dexterous strikes followed by smooth and elegant movements to keep his opponent off guard. His fire was not the strongest she had seen, that spot belonged to Luffy's brother, Ace, whose power had earned him his place as one of the most wanted pirates in the world. Still, Zuko's fire had a sort of elegance that Ace's had lacked. Zuko seemed to dance with his flames. Despite the dire situation they were in right now, Nami couldn't help but find herself mesmerized in the beauty of it.

So she watched, and lost herself in the dance of fire and lightning. A fight between man and god. A fight that no longer seemed hopeless.

Then, she screamed.

–-

Lost in his accomplishment, Zuko had become oblivious to the dark shadows that washed over Enel's eyes.

"Unforgivable." Enel's voice was barely audible over the sounds of the roaring flames and crackling energy. Still, they held a mountain of hate etched into its very being that Zuko paused in his attack. He looked at the seething form of the 'god' he was fighting and felt something chilling run down his spine.

"Unforgivable." The word was louder now, and filled with just as much hate as before. Sweat began to fall down Zuko's face, and not because of the heat of his flames.

"UNFORGIVABLE!"

Lightning crackled to life with the twitch of a finger of the 'God of Skypeia.' Enel glared at Zuko with absolute loathing etched onto his face. "For someone as low as you to grab hold of my lightning... and even so much as dare to direct it back at me... the thought is truly unforgivable." Enel lifted one finger in the direction of Zuko, who was frozen in place. "Disappear."

With effort, Zuko shook himself from his stupor and looked up only to be painfully reminded of the agony of being struck by a force of pure energy. It was not a piercing strike, if it had been Zuko would have been sporting a hole on his body instead of rolling on the ground writhing in agony. The lightning was everywhere, covering his body like a blanket. Pain washed over his body not in waves, but in one continuous stream. The feeling was reminiscent of the day lightning had entered his heart from his sister's attack, times ten.

_I've got to do something! _Zuko wracked his brain for something, anything, to get him out of this mess, but it was hard to focus with the pain. Acting on instinct, the prince began channeling the lightning throughout his body. He concentrated on the vital areas first, slowly guiding it through and out. Instead of directing the lightning back out, however, he did something completely new. He clamped down on the energy and began dispersing it in small portions. On accident he absorbed a small bit of the lightning and was surprised to find new strength well up inside him. Keeping with this regime it wasn't long before the lightning was all gone and Zuko was left panting on the ground, gasping for breath and clutching his chest.

Nami, who had screamed in horror after seeing the lightning rain down from the sky onto Zuko, was once more awed at the spectacle before her. _Amazing! Was he always this strong?_

Enel was not amused. "You're really starting to get on my nerves, mortal. And to think, I came here without the intention of hurting any you. Guess I have no choice." Grabbing Zuko by the neck, Enel lifted him into the air and chanted a command. Blue light swirled to life around Zuko as Nami watched on in renewed despair. Lightning crackled in intermittent periods. Zuko closed his eyes. He had a good guess as to what was coming.

Tears cascaded down Nami's face as she watched helplessly as a powerful burst of bright, blue energy exploded from Enel's hands. Zuko's body spasmed uncontrollably from the electrical discharge. Enel did not let up in his attack. He continued to pour more lightning into the body of the fallen firebender, even as Zuko's eyes rolled back and his head drooped forward in unconsciousness. Finally, Enel dropped him to the ground unceremoniously and turned to Nami. "Just shut up and don't move, got it?"

With her hands cupped over her face, she nodded, staring sadly at the unmoving form of Zuko's body. Enel turned his attention to Gan Fall who sat with barely controlled rage. "What is it that you want, Enel?"

Enel grinned. "Is that really how you should talk to the 'god' of this land? How long has it been? Six years now, right? Surely you're not still upset about the fact that I took over you're old position now, are you?"

The old man said nothing. His stormy eyes bore into the laughing form of Enel with restrained fury, though it was getting harder and harder not to take action. "Just tell me what it is that you want then leave."

Enel stopped his laughing and looked on upon the former 'god' mockingly. "I've had you're former subordinates working hard these past six years, Gan Fall. Their strength is impressive. Soon, I will rise to new heights, the likes of which have never been heard of before!" He laughed and looked back down at the old geezer. "Do try to survive until then, won't you? It's going to be an amazing festival after all."

With that, he disappeared. As soon as she was sure that he was gone, Nami rushed over to the still forms of her comrades. Relief filled her face as she found the heartbeats of both Sanji and Ussop, faint though they were. They weren't out of danger yet, and they definitely needed to be patched up and taken care of soon, but they would live. That was the important thing. Her gaze moved to the third fallen member and her heart sank. She had purposefully saved him for last, as his condition was the worst of them all. She was afraid that if she checked his pulse it would be in vain. Hesitantly, she made her way towards his prone form. Reaching down, she pressed her face flush down against his heart and listened.

Gan Fall watched silently as the girl checked over her injured friends. His heart was to the edge of breaking after witnessing the joyful young pirates from the night before being hurt in such a way. Seconds later, it did break when he saw fresh tears flow once again down the young girl's cheeks.

Nami's hands clenched and unclenched in uncontrollable fervor. Her lips quivered in sorrow. She hadn't made the same mistake Ussop had. She knew because she had checked and double checked and checked once more for good measure. But it was all in vain. The firebender's heart was not beating, and his body was growing unnaturally cold.

She didn't know why she felt this way. Zuko had only been with the crew for several days, and half of that time she had spent it separate from him. However, when she had questioned Robin over the conversation she'd had with him back at Conis's house, she had learned that Zuko had had a difficult life. She supposed she should have guessed that just from looking at his face, but she had brushed it aside. Robin had not shared every detail of her conversation with the young bender, but she doubted even she knew the story behind his scar.

In a last ditch effort to resuscitate Zuko, Nami opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and began to perform CPR on him. In and out Nami breathed life desperately into Zuko's mouth. She pressed against his chest as hard she could without the fear of injuring him further, and continued her attempts. Once, twice, ten times she tried. Each time her movements grew slower and her sobs became louder. After the fifteenth attempt she ceased her attempts. Sitting with her knees pulled into her chest, she cried.

Closing his eyes, Gan Fall cursed Enel. He cursed him for the pain and suffering he had wrought. He cursed him for the lives he had taken. And he cursed himself last of all for not being able to stop him from the start.

Movement from the deck made him open his eyes. The blonde-haired cook struggled to right himself. Nami moved to help him up. "Sanji-kun, don't strain yourself. You're still hurt."

Pure bliss covered his face at the realization that Nami was touchinghim. His expression soured when he saw Ussop and remembered what had happened. "Is Ussop…?"

"Ussop's fine." Nami's voice was hollow, as if she had been crying.

"Nami, what's wrong? Where's that bastard Enel?"

Nami turned away, which confirmed Sanji's fears. Something was wrong. "He's not here. He left."

Sanji became confused. "He left? Did we beat him?" His face morphed into one of horror. "Don't tell me Zuko was able to beat him! That little shit, pulling one up on me. I'm never gonna hear the end of it when he…"

Nami's voice cut through his ramblings like a knife. "That's not it. He left on his own. We didn't beat him. Zuko… didn't beat him."

Noticing her tear stained face for the first time, Sanji's face turned grave. He was suddenly aware of how quiet the ship was. Gan Fall was silent, with his head bowed as if in mourning. Sanji's eyes widened in both shock and horror as he came upon the charred form of Zuko.

"Oi, don't tell me… is he… he's not… is he?"

Sanji watched helplessly as Nami's shoulders shook with the force of held in tears. "It seemed like it was going well at first," she began. "He was able to… redirect the lightning, I guess. But Enel, he was too strong, he didn't stand a chance."

Sanji wanted to stop Nami right there. He didn't want her to have to say it, but he himself became entranced, waiting to hear more like some masochist. He knew the end result was not good. He knew it would only lead to more pain. But he couldn't stop listening.

"He shocked him. The lightning… it clung to him and just kept shocking him! It wouldn't stop. Enel… he just laughed. He tossed him to the side and just laughed!" Nami was about to lose her battle of keeping her tears in, but still she kept going. "I checked his pulse. I checked again and again and I tried to save him but I couldn't. And now he's… he's…" Unable to finish her sentence, the tears gushed out and she cried.

Sanji sighed. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter. He tried to light the match but his hands were shaking too much that he finally gave up and threw the damn cigarette to the ground. Nami didn't need to finish her sentence; he already knew what had happened. He knew the moment he failed to see the rise and fall of the fallen firebender's chest. Zuko, who had joined the group just days ago, was dead.

.

.

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**Author's Notes:**

So I finally got around to writing up this chapter. It's a little rushed and all, but I was tired of mulling around with it and putting it off. I still need to work on putting up the next chapter of Flame to Kill a Titan too. I don't want to abandon either of these stories.

Anyway, another thing that's been eating at me was the pairing. I know I had said earlier that I was going to make it Zuko x Robin, and I still plan on doing that, but I don't plan on having anything serious between the two of them happen for quite some time so I was wondering what you guys would think about sprinkling the story with bits of other pairings with Zuko? Not exactly harem, cause he wouldn't be with a bunch of girls at the same time. More like realistic dating? It's not like most people find the people they want to spend their lives with on the first try anyway. I don't know why, but I really started liking the idea of putting him with Nami for some reason, at least for a little while. I don't know. I really want to add pairings without taking away the action and turning it into some sappy romance shit. Honestly, at the risk of sounding like the typical male chauvinistic pig, I just want Zuko to get laid with some hot pirate chicks. Sounds bad but I am a guy. Girls are at the front of my mind.

If people are really opposed to that idea then I won't follow through with it. It's just an idea I've been pondering. However, if a lot of you guys don't mind or even like the idea, then that's what I plan to do from this point on. Let me know what you think and why if you want and I'll see you soon.


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